Micro-organisms associated with mortality of greyback canegrubs

Larvae of the greyback canegrub (Dermolepida albohirtum) were collected from the field and held in the laboratory until their death or adult emergence. About 46% of larvae died before pupation, and microbial agents were apparently responsible for about 66% of that mortality. Previously described pathogens such as Metarhizium anisopliae and Bacillus popilliae were recorded, as were a number of previously undescribed mirco-organisms. These included a microsporidian, several viruses, a bacterium (near Bacillus sphaericus) and an undescribed coccidian protozoan. Tentatively identified as Adelina sp. nov., this latter agent represented a previously unrecorded cause of mortality, and was associated with 27% of all larval deaths in samples collected in 1994.