Publications

Toxicity tests of three strains of Bacillus sphaericus against late instars of 12 culicine mosquito species indicated a wide range of susceptibility. Culex pipiens and C. salinarius were highly susceptible (LC50s < 104 spores/ml) to strain 1593, and C. pipiens and C. restuans were highly susceptible to strain 2013-4. The potency of strain SSII-1 was approximately one-tenth that of strains 1593 and 2013-4 against C. pipiens. Susceptibility of Aedes species to strain 1593 was highly variable. At temperatures ≥ 20°C, A. fitchii, A. intrudens, A. stimulans, and A. vexans were moderately to highly susceptible (LC50s 6 × 103−4 × 104 spores/ml), A. triseriatus was only slightly susceptible (LC50 > 106 spores/ml), and A. aegypti was refractory. Susceptibility of Aedes mosquitoes to strain SSII-1 was less variable, with LC50s against A. aegypti, A. canadensis, A. stimulans, and A. triseriatus all being between 104 and 106 vegetative cells + spores/ml. All species of mosquitoes tested were, in general, highly susceptible to B. thuringiensis var. israelensis (LC50s 2.3 × 103−2.5 × 104 spores/ml). In B. sphaericus toxicity tests, decreased temperatures resulted in up to a 16-fold increase in LC50 and a substantial reduction in probit line slope. First-instar A. aegypti larvae were more susceptible to B. sphaericus strain SSII-1 than the three later instars, which were approximately equally susceptible; however, no significant difference was observed in the susceptibility of the four instars of A. triseriatus.