Department of Agricultural Entomology, Centre for Plant Protection Studies, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore-641 003, Tamil Nadu, India.
Online published on 31 October, 2011.
Laboratory experiments were carried out to study the effect of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) on the non-target polyphagous predatory green lacewing, Chrysoperla carnea Stephens. The Bt products tested include Delfin WG, Delfin OF, Biobit, Spicthurin and Halt at different doses. All the Bt products were found safe to the eggs of C. carnea at various doses and the hatchability varied from 96.71 to 92.27 per cent But these products were harmful to certain extent to the grubs as well as adults at higher doses. The mortality caused by different treatments of Bt to grubs ranged between 6.66 and 33.33% as against 3.33% in control. Adult longevity was also reduced in Bt treatments (between 3.33 and 19.33 d) as compared to control which recorded 22.66 days. The number of eggs laid by the female were also reduced and ranged between 36.4 and 143.4 eggs per female as compared to 167.0 eggs in control.
Bacillus thuringiensis, Chrysoperla carnea
