Honey-bee-mediated infection of pollen beetle (Meligethes aeneus Fab.) by the insect-pathogenic fungus, Metarhizium anisopliae

Pollen beetles (Meligethes aeneus) are pests that feed and oviposit in the buds and flowers of oilseed rape. Honey-bees foraging from a hive fitted with an inoculum dispenser at the entrance effectively delivered dry conidia of the entomogenous fungus, Metarhizium anisopliae, to the flowers of oilseed rape in caged field plots. In both winter- and spring-sown rape experiments, a greater mortality of pollen beetles occurred in treated plots than in control plots. The mortality (61% on winter rape, 100% on spring rape) was greatest during peak flowering, what the feeding activity of both bees and beetles from the flowers was maximal, providing optimal conditions for inoculum dissemination and infection. Conidial sporulation occurred on a significant proportion of the dead pollen beetles. There was no evidence of any adverse effect on the honey-bee colonies.