Field experiments on persistence of Culicinomyces clavisporus
Allen, G.R.; Sweeney, A.W.
Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association 2(3): 368-371
1986
ISSN/ISBN: 8756-971X PMID: 3507515 Document Number: 272925
The pathogenic fungus Culicinomyces clavosporus was evaluated in experimental ponds for its persistence in the environment, in New South Wales, Australia, during 1983 and 1984. This was measured by its ability to infect larvae of its natural culicid host, Aedes rupestris, over a given time period after one application of an in vivo inoculum of fungal conidia to a pond. The application rates ranged from 25 up to 105 conidia/ml. Larvae of A. aegypti were also tested, in the laboratory, in samples of either sediment or water taken from the ponds on a weekly basis. Mosquito larval mortality in the ponds varied from 4 to 100% upon application of the inoculum. Four weeks later, no activity was detected in the water samples, fungal conidia were recovered from the sediment samples for up to 20 weeks after treatment. The laboratory tests indicated that conidia sank to the bottom of the ponds within 48 h after treatment, which seriously impeded their activity.