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This study reports the pathogenicity of three formulations of Beauveria bassiana ( Balsamo) Vuillemin (Hypocreales) - Bb- ET, GHA, and Bb- AES - and their application in panel-type and cylinder-type autoinoculation devices, and using sterile males as vectors for the control of Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae) in coffee-producing areas of the Central Highlands of Guatemala. Using sterile adults of C. capitata under laboratory bioassays, mean lethal concentrations ( LC50) of 1.4 × 107, 2.4 × 106, and 8.2 × 105 conidia ml−1, and median survival times of 4.1 ± 0.1, 4.2 ± 0.1, and 3.8 ± 0.1 days, were recorded for the strains GHA, Bb- AES, and Bb- ET, respectively. These values indicate that the three strains were sufficiently pathogenic and that their period of biological activity was considered adequate for using sterile flies as vectors of the inoculum. Observed percentages of sporulated wild C. capitata flies were 57.3, 44.7, and 44.3% for sterile fly vectors, panel devices, and cylinder devices, respectively. The total population reduction at the end of the study period was over 90% for the three treatments. Our results show that sterile males used as vectors or disseminator devices may represent a new control method for area-wide integrated management of Mediterranean fruit flies. The potential of this new approach and its integration with other control methods, including the sterile insect technique, is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sterile Mediterranean fruit fly,Ceratitis capitata(Wied.), males were evaluated as vectors to spreadBeauveria bassiana(Bals) conidia to wildC. capitatapopulations under field conditions. The inoculated sterile males were released by air, using the chilled adult technique over 7000 ha of coffee growing in Chimaltenango, Guatemala, Central America. The impact of releases was determined using dry traps baited with a food attractant. The effects of these releases onApis mellifera, Linnaeus (honey bee),Hypothenemus hampei, Ferrari (coffee berry borer) and the parasitic miteVarroa destructor(Oudeman) were also evaluated. Inoculated sterile males were able to transmit fungal spores to 44% of the wildC. capitataflies captured in traps, which likely were infected through intra- and intersexual interactions during leks, mating or mating attempts. There was no transmission of the fungal spores to non-target insect species such as coffee berry borer, honey bees or varroa. We conclude that sterile males of Mediterranean fruit fly inoculated withB. bassianacan act as effective vectors of conidia to wild populations, constituting a safe, environmentally friendly and selective alternative for suppressing the medfly under a Sterile Insect Technique-based IPM approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]