Microbial antagonists of the codling moth, Cydia pomonella L., diagnosed from 1955 to 2008

At the Institute for Biological Control in Darmstadt, Germany, more than 20,000 specimens of the codling moth, Cydia pomonella L., were diagnosed for insect pathogens from 1955 to 2008. Altogether, 87 accessions were received for diagnosis, mostly from Germany (79), but also from Switzerland (4), Austria (2), Italy (1), and Israel (1). Fifty accessions (57.5%) with larvae and with adults of field catches by light and pheromone traps revealed high infection rates up to 70% by the microsporidium Nosema carpocapsae, causing a chronic disease process. In 21 accessions (24.1%), the fungus Beauveria bassiana was identified most frequently on old and diapausing larvae and on pupae, but also Isaria farinosa (syn. Paecilomyces farinosus), Hirsutella spp., Lecanicillium spp., Isaria fumosorosea (syn. Paecilomyces fumosoroseus), Metarhizium anisopliae, as well as different fungi assigned to saprophytes were found. The C. pomonella granulovirus (CpGV) was identified in eight accessions (9.2%) of larvae and pupae of rearings or pertinent field experiments. Several bacteria, mostly undetermined, were also diagnosed. The results and possible contributions.