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The olive fruit fly Bactrocera oleae is one of the most serious and economically damaging insects worldwide, affecting the quality and quantity of both olive oil and table olives. Third instar larvae and pupae of several Tephritidae flies were reported to be susceptible to entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs), but few studies have been carried out on the olive fruit fly. Laboratory assays were conducted to evaluate the susceptibility of B. oleae larvae and pupae to two commercial EPN species, Steinernema feltiae and Heterorhabditis bacteriophora and two indigenous Italian strains of H. bacteriophora and Steinernema carpocapsae. Moreover, an olive assay in the soil was performed to evaluate the capability of EPN strains to enter inside the olive fruits and interact with B. oleae during the pupal stage or the emergence of adults in the winter diapause. The susceptibility assays with B. oleae were performed in well plates, filled with sterile soil (n = 30 for each EPN strain and insect stage). Adult emergence and mortality were recorded daily for 15 days. Dead pupae and adults were dissected to assess nematode infection. The most noteworthy result was obtained with S. feltiae which was able to infect more than 80% of larvae and it killed the pupae inside olive fruits and the adults during their emergence with the same efficacy. Since this Tephritidae fly spends several months in the soil, the use of EPNs, in particular, S. feltiae may represent a promising method to control this pest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pest control in chestnut orchards is mainly achieved by chemicals, but there is growing focus on the potential use of biological control agents. The larval susceptibility of the chestnut weevil Curculio elephas L. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) to different strains/species of entomopathogenic fungi and nematodes was evaluated in laboratory by soil cup bioassays. In the experiments with fungi, a wild strain of Metarhizium anisopliae caused the highest larval mortality (about 90%) compared with a commercial and a wild strain of Beauveria bassiana (80% and 77% respectively). Regarding nematodes, the commercial strain of Heterorhabditis bacteriophora was more effective in the control of chestnut larvae (77% insect mortality) than Steinernema carpocapsae (43%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scarab beetlePopillia japonica, a pest native to northern Japan, has been recently found in Italy. Entomopathogenic nematodes are useful for biological control of this invasive insect. Previous work showed that 1st and 2nd larval stages are more susceptible to nematodes than 3rd instars. We tested the effectiveness ofHeterorhabditis bacteriophorain the laboratory againstP. japonica3rd instars. Experiments were conducted in Italy with larvae field collected in the fall, winter and spring, showing a significant decrease in effectiveness from the fall to spring. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]