Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Entomology / Raymond A. Cloyd / The life history of the rove beetle, Atheta coriaria (Kraatz) (Coleoptera:Staphylinidae), predation against the fungus gnat Bradysia sp. nr. coprophila (Lintner) and compatibility with pesticides and plant growth regulators was investigated under laboratory conditions using Sunshine LC1 Professional Growing Mix as a substrate. Duration of life stages was 2.2, 7.1, and 7.8 days for egg, larva and pupa respectively, at 26°C, whereas total development time from egg to adult was 17.0 days. In addition, A. coriaria male and female adult longevity was 60.3 and 47.8 days. Average fecundity was 90.2 eggs per female and the number of adults produced per female was 69.1. There were no significant differences in prey consumption when using second and third instar fungus gnat larvae as prey and starved and non-starved rove beetles. Overall, predation efficacy in Petri dishes was high (70 to 80%) as fungus gnat larval density increased with 3.9, 7.0, 11.1, and 15.3 larvae consumed in 24 hours after exposure of 5, 10, 15 and 20 fungus gnat larvae to one rove beetle adult. However, lower predation rates were found at different predator:prey ratios when using 1 to 5 rove beetles and growing medium as a substrate. The direct and indirect effects of pesticides and plant growth regulators on A. coriaria were investigated under laboratory conditions. Rove beetle survival was consistently higher when adults were released 24 hours after rather than before applying pesticides. Acetamiprid, lambda-cyhalothrin, and cyfluthrin were directly harmful to rove beetle adults, whereas Beauveria bassiana, azadirachtin and organic oils were compatible with A. coriaria. Similarly, the plant growth regulators acymidol, paclobutrazol and uniconazole were not harmful to rove beetle adults. In addition, Beauveria bassiana, azadirachtin, kinoprene, organic oils, and the plant growth regulators did not negatively affect A. coriaria development. However, Beauveria bassiana did negatively affect rove beetle prey consumption. This study demonstrated that A. coriaria is not compatible with the pesticides acetamiprid, lambda-cyhalothrin and cyfluthrin, whereas there is compatibility with organic oils, Beauveria bassiana, azadirachtin, and the plant growth regulators. As such, these compounds may be used in combination with A. coriaria in greenhouse production systems.

Background and Aims Sexual deception is a species-specific pollination strategy commonly found in Orchidaceae. Sexually deceptive orchids lure male insect pollinators by mimicking the sex pheromones and/or appearance of female insects, which elicit copulatory behaviour with the flower by the male insects. This specialised pollination strategy has recently been found in a Pterostylis species in Australia. Pterostylis orchids also occur in New Zealand, although very few studies have been done on this genus, and no such specialised insect pollination strategy has been documented in New Zealand. Methods I investigated the breeding system and pollinators of three Pterostylis spp. to determine whether sexual deception may be operating in P. oliveri, P. irsoniana and P. venosa growing in native beech forests in Arthur's Pass. We also investigated the floral headspace volatiles of P. oliveri to determine which compounds are present, and which may be responsible for pollinator attraction. Key Results Breeding system experiments suggest that P. oliveri and P. irsoniana are self compatible, but exclusively dependent on insects for pollination. Only male fungus gnats (Diptera: Mycetophilidae) were found carrying pollinia attached to their thoraxes in traps set up over the flowers. Insect identification and ITS DNA analysis of the pollinia showed that each orchid species was pollinated by a specific fungus gnat species; Mycetophila latifascia males found with pollen of P. oliveri; Morganiella fusca males found with pollen of P. irsoniana; and Tetragoneura sp. males found with pollen of P. venosa. Field tests of an unidentified compound found in headspace volatiles of P. oliveri did not attract any Mycetophila latifascia males. Conclusions These results indicate that pollination via sexual deception may be operating in these three Pterostylis spp. However, further floral volatile analyses are required to confirm whether the flowers emit volatile compounds that resemble the sex pheromones of the specific pollinators.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:35:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2010-03-12Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T21:06:59Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 tavares_fm_dr_botfca.pdf: 538754 bytes, checksum: da1ec50d10839c5269a5a1390715eb52 (MD5) / Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa Agrícola (FUNDAG) / Nematóides entomopatogênicos (NEPs) dos gêneros Heterorhabditis e Steinernema vem sendo utilizados para o controle de mosca-dos-fungos em diversos países. Esse estudo teve por objetivo avaliar diferentes isolados de NEPs, contra larvas de Bradysia mabiusi, em condições de laboratório e casa de vegetação. Nos testes de seleção de isolados, o nematóide Heterorhabditis indica apresentou melhor desempenho comparado a todos os demais isolados, proporcionando mortalidade do inseto de até 98%. Para o estudo em casa de vegetação, avaliou-se o efeito dos nematóides entomopatogênicos Heterorhabditis indica e Steinernema feltiae, nas dosagens de 10, 50 e 100 JI/cm2, em cultivo protegido de Chrysanthemum sp. Foram realizados 3 experimentos. Houve diferença significativa entre os tratamentos somente no terceiro teste, entretanto, nos três testes os nematóides demonstraram uma tendência de redução na população do inseto, em função do aumento das dosagens, o que sugere o efeito dos agentes no controle do inseto. Da mesma forma, em todos os testes, o nematóide H. indica apresentou maior redução na população da mosca-dos-fungos que o S. feltiae, confirmando sua maior eficiência com níveis de controle variando de 6 a 67,5% no primeiro ensaio, de 17 a 77,5% no segundo, e de 62,5 a 78,5% no terceiro. Os resultados revelam que H. indica apresenta potencial de uso para o controle da mosca-dos-fungos. / Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) of the genus Heterorhabditis and Steinernema have been use against the fungus gnat in several countries. This study aimed to evaluate different strains of EPNs against larvae of Bradysia mabiusi, in laboratory and greenhouse conditions. At the screening of EPNs, the nematode H. indica showed better performance compared to the other nematodes, providing up to 98% mortality of the insect. To the study in greenhouse, evaluated the effects of the entomopathogenic nematodes Heterorhabditis indica e Steinernema feltiae, at dosage of 10, 50 and 100 IJ/cm2 in commercial growth of Chrysanthemum sp., in greenhouse conditions. Three experiments were accomplished. There were significative difference among the treatments only for the third experiment, mean while, in the three tests, the nematodes showed a tendency of reduction on the insect population according to the dosage increase, which suggest the effect of the agents on the insect control. In addition, in all the tests, the nematode H. indica showed higher reduction on the insect population compared to the S. feltiae, confirming its higher efficiency with control levels ranging from 6 to 67,5% in the first test, from 17 to 77,5% in the second, and from 62,5 to 78,5% in the third. The data show that H. indica has potential use for the controlling of the fungus gnat.

Orientador: Antonio Batista Filho / Banca: Carlos Frederico Wilcken / Banca: Silvia Renata Siciliano Wilcken / Banca: Laerte Antonio Machado / Banca: Inajá Marchizeli Wenzel / Resumo: Nematóides entomopatogênicos (NEPs) dos gêneros Heterorhabditis e Steinernema vem sendo utilizados para o controle de mosca-dos-fungos em diversos países. Esse estudo teve por objetivo avaliar diferentes isolados de NEPs, contra larvas de Bradysia mabiusi, em condições de laboratório e casa de vegetação. Nos testes de seleção de isolados, o nematóide Heterorhabditis indica apresentou melhor desempenho comparado a todos os demais isolados, proporcionando mortalidade do inseto de até 98%. Para o estudo em casa de vegetação, avaliou-se o efeito dos nematóides entomopatogênicos Heterorhabditis indica e Steinernema feltiae, nas dosagens de 10, 50 e 100 JI/cm2, em cultivo protegido de Chrysanthemum sp. Foram realizados 3 experimentos. Houve diferença significativa entre os tratamentos somente no terceiro teste, entretanto, nos três testes os nematóides demonstraram uma tendência de redução na população do inseto, em função do aumento das dosagens, o que sugere o efeito dos agentes no controle do inseto. Da mesma forma, em todos os testes, o nematóide H. indica apresentou maior redução na população da mosca-dos-fungos que o S. feltiae, confirmando sua maior eficiência com níveis de controle variando de 6 a 67,5% no primeiro ensaio, de 17 a 77,5% no segundo, e de 62,5 a 78,5% no terceiro. Os resultados revelam que H. indica apresenta potencial de uso para o controle da mosca-dos-fungos. / Abstract: Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) of the genus Heterorhabditis and Steinernema have been use against the fungus gnat in several countries. This study aimed to evaluate different strains of EPNs against larvae of Bradysia mabiusi, in laboratory and greenhouse conditions. At the screening of EPNs, the nematode H. indica showed better performance compared to the other nematodes, providing up to 98% mortality of the insect. To the study in greenhouse, evaluated the effects of the entomopathogenic nematodes Heterorhabditis indica e Steinernema feltiae, at dosage of 10, 50 and 100 IJ/cm2 in commercial growth of Chrysanthemum sp., in greenhouse conditions. Three experiments were accomplished. There were significative difference among the treatments only for the third experiment, mean while, in the three tests, the nematodes showed a tendency of reduction on the insect population according to the dosage increase, which suggest the effect of the agents on the insect control. In addition, in all the tests, the nematode H. indica showed higher reduction on the insect population compared to the S. feltiae, confirming its higher efficiency with control levels ranging from 6 to 67,5% in the first test, from 17 to 77,5% in the second, and from 62,5 to 78,5% in the third. The data show that H. indica has potential use for the controlling of the fungus gnat. / Doutor