Greater wax moth control in apiaries can be improved by combining Bacillus thuringiensis and entrapments

作者：Bo Han, Li Zhang, Lili Geng, Huiru Jia, Jian Wang, Ke Li, Airui Li, Jing Gao, Tong Wu, Ying Lu, Feng Liu, Huailei Song, Wei Xiaoping, Shilong Ma, Hongping Zhan, Yanyan Wu, Yong‐Jun Liu, Qiang Wang, Qingyun Diao, Jie Zhang, Pingli Dai · 发表于：Nature Communications · 年份：2023 · DOI：10.1038/s41467-023-42946-4 · 被引用次数：15 · 研究领域：Insect and Pesticide Research、Insect-Plant Interactions and Control、Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior

Abstract The greater wax moth (GWM), Galleria mellonella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), is a major bee pest that causes significant damage to beehives and results in economic losses. Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) appears as a potential sustainable solution to control this pest. Here, we develop a novel Bt strain (designated BiotGm) that exhibits insecticidal activity against GWM larvae with a LC 50 value lower than 2 μg/g, and low toxicity levels to honey bee with a LC 50 = 20598.78 μg/mL for larvae and no observed adverse effect concentration = 100 μg/mL for adults. We design an entrapment method consisting of a lure for GWM larvae, BiotGm, and a trapping device that prevents bees from contacting the lure. We find that this method reduces the population of GWM larvae in both laboratory and field trials. Overall, these results provide a promising direction for the application of Bt-based biological control of GWM in beehives, although further optimization remain necessary.