Susceptibility of Euschistus heros (Fabricius, 1798) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) nymphs to Bacillus spp. strains

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37486/2675-1305.ec07028

Keywords:

Bacillus cereus, Bacillus thuringiensis, bioassays, biological control

Abstract

Soybean crops are subject to various phytophagous insects, among which the Neotropical brown stink bug Euschistus heros (Fabricius, 1798) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) stands out. The biological control of this pest is one of the viable alternatives to reduce the use of chemical insecticides. This study aimed to evaluate the pathogenic potential of different Bacillus spp. strains in the mortality of nymphs of E. heros under laboratory conditions. Bioassays were done using the artificial feeding system methodology with Falcon tubes, and seventeen Bacillus spp. strains were utilized. As a result, one strain of Bacillus thuringiensis caused 100% mortality, and the lethal concentration (LC₅₀) was estimated: 8.42 × 10⁴ spores/mL. In addition, two other strains of B. thuringiensis and one strain of Bacillus cereus caused mortality above 70%, and a Bacillus velezensis caused 55%.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

AGROFIT (2025) Sistema de Agrotóxicos Fitossanitários. Brasília: Ministério da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento. https://agrofit.agricultura.gov.br/agrofit_cons. Access on: 07.iv.2025

Alahmed, A.; Khalil, S.; Ibrahim, Y.; Munawar, K. (2024) Isolation and characterization of Bacillus velezensis WHk23 as a potential mosquitocide. Biocontrol Science and Technology, 35(3): 265–277. doi: 10.1080/09583157.2024.2443173

Ajuna, H. B.; Lim. H. I.; Moon, J. H.; Won, S. J.; Choub, V.; Choi, S. I.; Yun, J. Y.; Ahn, Y. S. (2023) The Prospect of Hydrolytic Enzymes from Bacillus Species in the Biological Control of Pests and Diseases in Forest and Fruit Tree Production. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 24(23): 16889. doi: 10.3390/ijms242316889

Castro, M. T.; Lima Ferreira, A. D. C.; Nascimento, I. N.; Rocha, G. T.; Celestino, M. F.; Freire, I. A.; Moreira, I. C. F.; Gomes, G. C.; Cunha, B. B. R.; Montalvão, S. C. L., et al. (2025) Endophytic Bacillus spp. of coffee plants (Coffea arabica L.) and its potential in the biocontrol of phytopathogenic fungi and Lepidoptera larvae. Egyptian Journal of Biological Pest Control, 35(8): 1-11. doi: 10.1186/s41938-025-00846-3

Chougule, N.P.; Bonning, B.C. (2012) Toxins for transgenic resistance to Hemipteran pests. Toxins, 4(6): 405-429. doi: 10.3390/toxins4060405

Costa, F. S. S.; Castro, M. T.; Martins, E.; Monnerat, R. (2022) Insecticidal effect of cry toxins produced by Bacillus thuringiensis on Diceraeus melacanthus (Dallas, 1851) and Euschistus heros (Fabricius, 1798) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae). Journal of Agricultural Science, 14(9): 1–14. doi: 10.5539/jas.v14n9p1

Cristofoletti, P. T.; Ribeiro, A. F.; Deraison, C.; Rahbé, Y.; Terra, W. R. (2003) Midgut adaptation and digestive enzyme distribution in a phloem feeding insect, the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum. Journal of Insect Physiology, 49(1): 11-24. doi: 10.1016/S0022-1910(02)00222-6

Depieri, R. A.; Panizzi, A. R. (2011) Duration of feeding and superficial and in-depth damage to soybean seed by selected species of stink bugs (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae). Neotropical Entomology, 40(2): 197-203. doi: 10.1590/S1519-566X2011000200007

Dorta, S. O.; Balbinotte, J.; Monnerat, R.; Lopes, J. R. S.; da Cunha, T.; Zanardi, O. Z.; de Miranda, M. P.; Machado, M. A.; de Freitas-Astúa, J. (2020) Selection of Bacillus thuringiensis strains in citrus and their pathogenicity to Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera: Liviidae) nymphs. Insect Science, 27(3): 519-530. doi: 10.1111/1744-7917.12654

Ehling-Schulz, M.; Lereclus, D.; Koehler, T. M. (2019) The Bacillus cereus Group: Bacillus Species with Pathogenic Potential. Microbiology Spectrum, 7(3): 1-35. doi: 10.1128/microbiolspec.gpp3-0032-2018

González-Cabrera, J.; Mollá, O.; Montón, H., Urbaneja, A. (2011) Efficacy of Bacillus thuringiensis (Berliner) in controlling the tomato borer, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae). BioControl, 56: 71-80. doi: 10.1007/s10526-010-9310-1

Hayashida, R.; Bueno, A. de F.; Hermel, A. O.; Hirakuri, M. H.; Silva, F. A. C.; Roggia, S. (2018) Euschistus heros (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) fitness on artificial diets: an approach to optimize mass rearing of Telenomus podisi (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae) for augmentative biological control. Journal of Economic Entomology, 111(4): 1605-1613. doi: 10.1093/jee/toy154

Li, H.; Chougule, N. P.; Bonning, B. C. (2011) Interaction of the Bacillus thuringiensis δ endotoxins Cry1Ac and Cry3Aa with the gut of the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris). Journal of Invertebrate Pathology, 107(1): 69-78. doi: 10.1016/j.jip.2011.02.001

Monnerat, R.; Montalvão, S. C. L.; Martins, E. S.; Queiroz, P. R.; Silva, E. Y. Y.; Garcia, A. R. M.; Castro, M. T.; Rocha, G. T.; Ferreira, A. D. C. L.; Gomes, A. C. M. M. (2020) Produção e controle de qualidade de produtos biológicos à base de bactérias do gênero Bacillus para uso na agricultura. Embrapa Recursos Genéticos e Biotecnologia, Brasília, Brasil.

Panizzi, A. R.; Bueno, A. de F.; Silva, F. A. C. da (2012) Insetos que atacam vagens e grãos. In: Hoffmann-Campo, C. B.; Corrêa-Ferreira, B. S.; Moscardi, F. (Eds.), Soja: manejo integrado de insetos e outros artrópodes-praga, pp. 335-420. Brasília, DF: Embrapa.

Praça, L. B.; Batista, A. C.; Martins, É. S., Siqueira, C. B.; Dias, D. G. de S.; Gomes, A. C. M. M.; Falcão, R.; Monnerat, R. G. (2004) Estirpes de Bacillus thuringiensis efetivas contra insetos das ordens Lepidoptera, Coleoptera e Diptera. Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira, 39(1): 11–16. doi: 10.1590/S0100-204X2004000100002

Rabbee, M. F.; Ali, M. S.; Choi, J.; Hwang, B. S.; Jeong, S. C.; Baek, K-H. (2019) Bacillus velezensis: A Valuable Member of Bioactive Molecules within Plant Microbiomes. Molecules, 24(6): 1046. doi: 10.3390/molecules24061046

R Core Team (2024) R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria.

Schünemann, R.; Knaak, N.; Fiuza, L. M. (2014) Mode of action and specificity of Bacillus thuringiensis toxins in the control of caterpillars and stink bugs in soybean culture. ISRN Microbiology, 2014: 1-12. doi: 10.1155/2014/135675

Senthil-Nathan, S. (2015) A review of biopesticides and their mode of action against insect pests. In: Thangavel P, Sridevi G (eds) Environmental sustainability. Springer, Berlin. doi: 10.1007/978-81-322-2056-5_3

Souza, M. T. de; Lima, M. I.; Silva-Werneck, J. O.; Dias, J. C. S.; Ribeiro, B. M. (1999) Ultrastructural and molecular characterization of the parasporal crystal proteins of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki S93 active against Spodoptera frugiperda. Biocell, 23: 43-49.

Ye, M.; Tang, X.; Yang, R.; Zhang, H.; Li, F.; Tao, F.; Li, F.; Wang, Z. (2018) Characteristics and Application of a Novel Species of Bacillus: Bacillus velezensis. ACS Chemical Biology Journal, 13(3): 500-505. doi: 10.1021/acschembio.7b00874

Verma, M. L.; Kumar, A.; Chintagunta, A. D.; Samudrala, P. J. K.; Bardin, M.; Lichtfouse, E. (2024) Microbial Production of Biopesticides for Sustainable Agriculture. Sustainability, 16(17): 7496. doi 10.3390/su16177496

Downloads

Published

2025-10-02

How to Cite

Castro, M. T. de, Gomes, G. C., Cunha, B. B. dos R., Rocha, G. T., Ferreira, A. D. C. de L., Montalvão, S. C. L., & Monnerat, R. G. (2025). Susceptibility of Euschistus heros (Fabricius, 1798) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) nymphs to Bacillus spp. strains. Entomological Communications, 7, ec07028. https://doi.org/10.37486/2675-1305.ec07028

Issue

Section

Protocol & Techniques

Metrics

Funding data

Most read articles by the same author(s)