H- marelatus

Kill fungus gnats using biological control agents: Insect-parasitic nematodes /  by Ganpati Jagdale

  • Several fungus gnat species including Bradysia coprophila, B. impatiens and B. difformis are considered economically important indoor and greenhouse pests in Europe and the US.
  • Fungus gnat flies are black or gray in color with clear wings, relatively small (3-4 mm) in size and commonly associated with compost and natural soils with high organic contents.
  • You can see these hopping flies when you water your plants.
  • Fungus gnat maggots (larvae) are white-bodied with black heads and can be found just under the surface of the potting medium/soil.
  • These maggots primarily feed on fungi and organic matter but they can also cause a serious damage to many ornamental plants.
  • Maggots often chew or strip plant roots and tunnel stems affecting water and nutrient absorption in severely injured plants resulting in lost vigor, turn off-color and eventually death.
  • Maggots are also capable of transmitting fungal pathogens (Fusarium, Phoma, Pythium and Verticillium) during feeding.
  • Adult flies are nuisance to people and disseminate fungal spores from plant to plant as they disperse through the greenhouse.
  • Females often laying over 1000 eggs in a lifetime on the media surface and completing egg-to-egg life cycle within 20-25 days at 20-25oC.
  • Continuous and overlapping generations of fungus gnats in the greenhouse have made most control strategies difficult.
  • Currently, most growers rely on insecticides to manage fungus gnats in floriculture.
  • However, use of these insecticides is restricted due to their environmental pollution and human health concerns, development of resistance to pesticides and removal of some of the most effective products from the market.
  • Biological control agents including Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), the predatory mite, Hypoaspis miles and entomopathogenic nematodes have been used as alternatives to chemical pesticides.
  • The entomopathogenic nematodes species including Heterorhabditis bacteriophora GPS11 strain, H. indica LN2 strain and Steinernema feltiae UK strain have a potential to use as biocontrol agents against fungus gnats.
  • These nematodes kill both maggots (larvae) and pupae, but the second and fourth stages are most susceptible than pupae.
  • Nematodes are generally applied in water suspension as spray applications to the surface of plant growing medium to target larval and pupal stages.
  • The potting medium (Ball-mix, Nursery-mix or Pro-mix) can influence the survival, persistence and efficacy of entomopathogenic nematodes in greenhouse production.
  • In the Nursery-mix, H. bacteriophora can survive longer and perform better than H. indica, H. marelatus Oregon, H. zealandica X1 and Steinernema feltiae against fungus gnats.
  • In the Pro-mix, only H. indica have performed better than all other nematode species that tested against fungus gnats.
  • Application of S. feltiae can cause 40% reduction in fungus gnat population in Ball-mix, 50% in Metro-mix and 56% in Pro-mix, but only 27% in the Nursery-mix.
  • In the greenhouse, temperature can influence efficacy of nematodes. For example, H. bacteriophora and H. indica can survive and cause very high mortality of fungus gnats at warmer (above 25oC) temperatures whereas S. feltiae is generally effective against fungus gnats at cooler (below 25oC) temperatures.
  • Application of an appropriate concentration of nematodes is a crucial step in the cost effective control of fungus gnats in greenhouse production.
  • Generally, application of one billion infective juveniles of H. bacteriophora, H. indica or S. feltiae per acre can kill over 50% fungus gnats in greenhouse productions.

How entomopathogenic nematodes kill fungus gnats

  • When the infective juveniles are applied to the surface of plant growing medium, they start searching for hosts, in this case fungus gnat maggots (larvae) and pupae.
  • Once a maggot/pupa has been located, the nematode infective juveniles penetrate into the maggot body cavity via natural openings such as mouth, anus and breathing pores called spiracles.
  • Infective juveniles of Heterorhabditis spp also enter through the intersegmental members of the maggot/pupal cuticle.
  • Once in the body cavity, infective juveniles release symbiotic bacteria (Xenorhabdus spp. for Steinernematidae and Photorhabdus spp. for Heterorhabditidae) from their gut in the fungus gnat blood.
  • Multiplying nematode-bacterium complex causes septicemia and kills the host usually within 48 h after infection.
  • Nematodes feed on multiplying bacteria, mature into adults, reproduce and then emerge as infective juveniles from the cadaver to seek new maggots in the potting medium/soil.

Nematodes are now commercially available from many suppliers distributed throughout in the USA.

For more information on biological control of fungus gnats, please read following research papers/book chapters:

  • Binns, E.S., 1973.  Fungus gnats (Diptera: Mycetophilidae, Sciaridae) and the role of mycophagy in soil: a review. Rev. Ecol. Biol. Sol. 18, 77-90.
  • Chambers, R.J., Wright, E.M., Lind, R.J., 1993.  Biological control of glasshouse sciarid larvae (Bradysia spp.) with the predatory mite, Hypoaspis miles on Cyclamen and Poinsettia. Biocontrol Sci. Technol. 3, 285-293.
  • Ecke, P.Jr., Faust, J.E., Williams, J., Higgins, A., 2004.  The Poinsettia Manual. Ball Publishing, The Paul Ecke Ranch, Encinitas, California, USA.
  • Freeman, P., 1983.  Sciarid flies, Diptera; Sciaridae. Handbooks for the identification of British insects 9, Part 6. London, Royal Entomol. Soc. pp 68.
  • Gillespie, D.R., Menzies, J.G., 1993.  Fungus gnat vector Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. radicislycopersici.  Ann. Appl. Biol. 123, 539-544.
  • Gouge, D.H., Hague, N.G.M., 1994.  Control of sciarids in glass and propagation houses with Steinernema feltiae. Brighton Crop Protection Conference: Pest Dis. 3, 1073-1078.
  • Gouge, D.H., Hague, N.G.M., 1995.  Glasshouse control of fungus gnats, Bradysia paupera, on fuchsias by Steinernema feltiae. Fundam. Appl. Nematol. 18, 77-80.
  • Grewal, P.S., Richardson, P.N., 1993.  Effects of application rates of Steinernema feltiae (Nematoda: Steinernematidae) on control of the mushroom sciarid fly, Lycoriella auripila (Diptera: Sciaridae).  Biocontrol Sci. Technol. 3, 29-40.
  • Grewal, P.S., Tomalak, M., Keil, C.B.O., Gaugler, R., 1993. Evaluation of a genetically selected strain of Steinernema feltiae against the mushroom sciarid fly, Lycoriella mali. Ann. Appl. Biol. 123, 695-702.
  • Harris, M.A., Oetting, R.D., Gardner, W.A., 1995.  Use of entomopathogenic nematodes and new monitoring technique for control of fungus gnats, Bradysia coprophila (Diptera: Sciaridae), in floriculture. Biol. Control 5, 412-418.
  • Jagdale, G. B., Casey, M. L., Grewal, P. S. and Lindquist, R. K. 2004.  Application rate and timing, potting medium and host plant on the efficacy of Steinernema feltiae against the fungus gnat, Bradysia coprophila, in floriculture. Biol. Contrl. 29: 296-305.
  • Jagdale, G. B., Casey, M. L., Grewal, P. S. and Luis Cañas. 2007.  Effect of entomopathogenic nematode species, split application and potting medium on the control of the fungus gnat, Bradysia difformis (Diptera: Sciaridae), in the greenhouse at alternating cold and warm temperatures. Biol. Control. 43: 23-30.
  • Kim, H.H., Choo, H.Y., Kaya, H.K., Lee, D.W., Lee, S.M., Jeon, H.Y., 2004.  Steinernema carpocapsae (Rhabditida: Steinernematidae) as a biological control agent against the fungus gnat Bradysia agrestis (Diptera: Sciaridae) in propogation houses. Biocontrol Sci. Technol. 14, 171-183.
  • Lindquist R., Piatkowski J. 1993. Evaluation of entomopathogenic nematodes for control of fungus gnat larvae. Bull. Int. Organiz. Biol. Integr. Control Noxious Animals and Plants. 16, 97-100.
  • Lindquist, R.K., Faber, W.R., Casey, M.L., 1985.  Effect of various soilless root media and insecticides on fungus gnats.  HortScience. 20, 358-360.
  • Menzel, F., Smith, J.E., Colauto, N.B., 2003.  Bradysia difformis Frey and Bradysia ocellaris (Comstock): two additional neotropical species of black fungus gnats (Diptera : Sciaridae) of economic importance: a redescription and review. Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 96, 448-457.
  • Nielsen, G. R., 2003. Fungus gnats. http://www.uvm.edu/extension/publications/el/el50.htm
  • Oetting, R.D., Latimer, J.G., 1991.  An entomogenous nematode Steinernema carpocapsae is compatible with potting media environments created by horticultural practices. J. Entomol. Sci. 26, 390-394.
  • Olson, D.L., Oetting, R.D., van Iersel, M.W., 2002.  Effect of soilless media and water management on development of fungus gnats (Diptera: Sciaridae) and plant growth. HortScience. 37: 919-923.
  • Richardson, P.N., Grewal, P.S., 1991.  Comparative assessment of biological (Nematoda: Steinernema feltiae) and chemical methods of control of mushroom fly, Lycoriella auripila (Diptera: Sciaridae).  Biocontrol Sci. Technol. 1, 217-228.
  • Tomalak, M., Piggott, S. and Jagdale, G. B. 2005.  Glasshouse applications. In: Nematodes As Biocontrol Agents. Grewal, P.S. Ehlers, R.-U., Shapiro-Ilan, D. (eds.). CAB publishing, CAB International, Oxon. Pp 147-166.
  • Wilkinson, J.D., Daugherty, D.M., 1970.  Comparative development of Bradysia impatiens (Diptera: Sciaridae) under constant and variable temperatures. Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 63, 1079-1083.