Effect of Bed Bug (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) Aldehydes on Efficacy of Fungal Biopesticides

Abstract

Abstract The use of the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana (Bals. – Criv.) Vuill. (Hypocreales: Cordycipitaceae) has been recently incorporated in the management of bed bugs, Cimex lectularius L. (Hemiptera: Cimicidae). Bed bugs produce a set of aldehydes that are known to affect the growth of some fungi. Considering that bed bugs or their exuviae release these aldehydes, it was suspected that the bed bugs’ aggregation sites would contain an increased level of the bed bug aldehydes. The current study examined if elevated levels of the bed bug aldehydes in the microhabitats would impact the efficacy of B. bassiana. Following a brief exposure to the residues of commercial products containing B. bassiana, the treated bed bugs were kept in a vial with or without a natural or artificial blend of bed bug aldehydes (i.e., exuviae or synthetic compounds). For a B. bassiana product that is not currently registered for bed bugs control, the presence of aldehydes significantly reduced 15-d mortality (61–62%) compared to the no aldehydes control (97.7%). However, when tested with a B. bassiana formulation designed for bed bug control, the aldehydes only caused delayed mortality for the treated bed bugs. When tested in culture, the growth rate of B. bassiana on a medium was significantly reduced when the bed bug aldehydes were provided in the headspace. Implications on practical bed bug management using fungal biopesticides are discussed.