Interactions between Bollworms,1 a Braconid Parasite,2 and the Bacterium Serratia marcescens3

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The pathogenic bacterium, Serratia marcescens Bizio, was isolated from dead laboratory-reared larvae of the braconid parasite, Microplitis croceipes Cresson, that had emerged from diseased Heliothis zea (Boddie) larvae. Laboratory feeding tests with S. marcescens against adult parasites resulted in 79% mortality in 7 days. When the bacterium was fed to isolated bollworm larvae, no mortality occurred, but when it was fed to larvae held in crowded conditions high mortality resulted. Healthy H. zea larvae died 24 hrs after being stung by wasps that had previously stung diseased larvae, and ovipositor transmission of the pathogen caused a peak mortality of 28% in 4 days. When comparisons were made between healthy and infected oviposition stings, it was found that parasite emergence was depressed 25.5% when the pathogen was present in host larvae.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: