Selection for entomopathogenic fungi and LD50 of Metarhizium anisopliae (Metsch.) Sorok. for the Lesser Mealworm Alphitobius diaperinus (Panzer) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)

The pathogenicity of insect-pathogenic hyphomycetous isolates to the lesser mealworm Alphitobius diaperinus (Panzer) was tested in this study. Thirty isolates of Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin, Paecilomyces amoenoroseus (Hennings), P. fumosoroseus (Wize) Brown & Smith, P. lilacinus (Thom) Samson, P. tenuipes (Petch) Samson, Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschnikoff) Sorokin, and M. anisopliae var. acridum were initially screened by sprinkling dry conidia onto adult A. diaperinus or by allowing adults to walk on Petri dishes with sporulating fungal isolates. The two most virulent isolates, C...