Full Length Research Paper
Abstract
Bioassays were conducted using larvae of mealworms, Tenebrio molitor, to determine lethal concentration for five entomopathogenic strains of spore-forming bacteria. Lethal concentration was determined by feeding T. molitor larvae cabbage discs dipped in whole cell cultures of these five strains of bacteria. The strains of bacteria were isolates ofBacillus cereus, Bacillus thuringiensis and Brevibacillus laterosporus. An isolate of B. cereus required the highest concentration of viable spores (8.531 x 107 spores ml-1) to achieve its LC50, whereas an isolate of B. laterosporus required the lowest concentration of viable spores (3.388 x 106 spores ml-1) to achieve LC50.
Key words: Mealworms, spore-forming bacteria, bioassays.
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