Long-Read Assembly and Annotation of the Parasitoid Wasp <i>Muscidifurax raptorellus</i>, a Biological Control Agent for Filth Flies

The parasitoid wasp Muscidifurax raptorellus (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) is a gregarious species that has received extensive attention for its potential in biological pest control against house fly, stable fly, and other filth flies. It has a high reproductive capacity and can be reared easily. However, genome assembly is not available for M. raptorellus or any other species in this genus. Previously, we assembled a complete circular mitochondrial genome with a length of 24,717 bp. Here, we assembled and annotated a high-quality nuclear genome of M. raptorellus, using a combination of long-read (104× genome coverage) and short-read (326× genome coverage) sequencing technologies. The assembled genome size is 314 Mbp in 226 contigs, with a 97.9% BUSCO completeness score and a contig N50 of 4.67 Mb, suggesting excellent continuity of this assembly. Our assembly builds the foundation for comparative and evolutionary genomic analysis in the genus of Muscidifurax and possible future biocontrol applications

Influence Of Temperature On Development Time And Longevity Of Tachinaephagus Zealandicus (hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), And Effects Of Nutrition And Emergence Order On Longevity

Tachinaephagus zealandicus Ashmead is a gregarious endoparasitoid that attacks third instars of muscoid flies in the Southern Hemisphere. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the influence of six constant temperatures (16, 18, 20, 22, 25, and 27°C) on development time, the influence of emergence order on longevity, and the effects of temperature and food treatment on longevity. Emergence success was greatest at 22°C for both males and females; significantly fewer (24.1-30.4%) parasitoids emerged at 16 and 25°C compared with 22°C. Development time ranged from 24.0 to 56.9 d for both sexes. No emergence was observed at 27°C. Early-emerging parasitoids had greater longevity than parasitoids that emerged later from the same cohorts. The longevity of females given honey and water decreased with increasing temperature, and those reared at 16°C lived about three times longer than those kept at 27°C. Females given honey and water had similar longevities at 16-20°C, and females that were given only water lived for only 4.8-7.6 d at all temperatures. Females lived significantly longer overall than males at all temperatures except 16°C, but differences due to sex were small compared with the effects of temperature and nutrition. Further investigations will be necessary to determine the climatic zones in which T. zealandicus is most likely to be an effective biological control agent of muscoid flies.312375380Ables, J.R., Shepard, M., Holman, J.R., Development of the parasitoids Spalangia endius and Muscidifurax in relation to constant and variable temperature: Simulation and validation (1976) Environ. Entomol., 5, pp. 329-332Bishop, D.M., Heath, A.C.G., Haack, N.A., Distribution, prevalence and host associations of Hymenoptera parasitic on Calliphoridae ocurring in flystrike in New Zealand (1996) Med. Vet. Entomol., 10, pp. 365-370Blumberg, D., Parasitoid encapsulation as a defense mechanism in the Coccoidea (Homoptera) and its importance in biological control (1997) Biol. Control, 8, pp. 225-236Costa, V.A., (1989) Parasitóides Pupais (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea) de Musca domestica L., 1758, Stomoxys calcitrans (L., 1758) e Muscina stabulans (Fallén, 1816) (Diptera, Muscidae) em Aviários de Echaporã, SP, , M.S. thesis, ESALQFerreira De Almeida, M.A., Pires Do Prado, A., Aleachara spp. (Coleoptera: Staphilinidae) and pupal parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) attacking symbovine fly pupae (Diptera: Muscidae, Sarcophagidae and Otitidae) in southeastern Brazil (1999) Biol. Control, 14, pp. 77-83Geden, C.J., Modeling host attacks and progeny production of Spalangia gemina, Spalangia cameroni, and Muscidifurax raptor (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) at constant and variable temperatures (1996) Biol. Control, 7, pp. 172-178Geden, C.J., Development models for filth fly parasitoids Spalangia gemina, Spalangia cameroni, and Muscidifurax raptor (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) under constant and variable temperatures (1997) Biol. Control, 9, pp. 185-192Leal, T.T.S., Prado, A.P., Antunes, A.J., Rearing the larvae of the blowfly Chrysomya chloropyga (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) on oligidic diets (1982) Revta. Bras. Zool., 1 (1), pp. 41-44Legner, E.F., Behavior changes the reproduction of Spalangia cameroni, S. endius, Muscidifurax raptor, and Nasonia vitripennis (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) at increasing fly host densities (1967) Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am., 60, pp. 819-826Legner, E.F., Adult emergence interval and reproduction in parasitic Hymenoptera influenced by host size and density (1969) Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am., 62, pp. 220-226Legner, E.F., Olton, G.S., Activity of parasites from Diptera: Musca domestica, Stomoxys calcitrans, and species of Fannia, Muscina, and Ophyra II, at sites in the Eastern Hemisphere and Pacific Area (1968) Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am., 61, pp. 1306-1314Legner, E.F., Bowen, W.R., Rooney, W.F., Mc Keen, W.D., Johnston, G.W., Integrated fly control on poultry ranches (1975) Calif. Agric., 29 (5), pp. 8-10Liu, S.S., Zhang, G.M., Zhu, J., Influence of temperature variations on rate of development in insects: Analysis of case studies from entomological literature (1995) Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am., 88, pp. 107-119Madar, R.J., Miller, J.C., Developmental biology of Apanteles yakutatensis (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a primary parasite of Autographa californica (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) (1983) Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am., 76, pp. 683-687Mann, J.A., Axtell, R.C., Stinner, R.E., Temperature-dependent development and parasitism rates of four species of Pteromalidae (Hymenoptera) parasitoids of house fly (Musca domestica) pupae (1990) Med. Vet. Entomol., 4, pp. 245-253Monteiro, M.R., Pires Do Prado, A., Ocorrència de Trichopria sp. (Hymenoptera: Diapriidae) atacando pupas de Chrysomya putoria (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) na granja (2000) An. Soc. Entomol. Bras., 29 (1), pp. 159-167Olton, G.S., (1971) Bioecological Studies of Tachinaephagus zealandicus Ashmead (Hymenoptera, Encyrtidae), Parasitoid of Synanthropic Diptera, , Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, RiversideOlton, G.S., Legner, E.F., Biology of Tachinaephagus zealandicus (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), parasitoid of synanthropic Diptera (1974) Can. Entomol., 106 (8), pp. 785-800(1992) SAS User's Guide: Statistics, , SAS Institute, Cary, NCSchoolfield, R.M., Sharpe, P.J.H., Magnuson, C.E., Non-linear regression of biological temperature-dependent rate models based on absolute reaction-rate theory (1981) J. Theor. Biol., 88, pp. 719-731Sharpe, P.J.H., De Michele, D.W., Reaction kinetics of poikilotherm development (1977) J. Theor. Biol., 64, pp. 649-670Silveira, G.A.R., Madeira, N.G., Azeredo-Espin, A.M.L., Pavan, C., Levantamento de microhimenópteros parasitóides de dípteros de importância médico-veterinária no Brasil (1989) Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz Rio de Janeiro, 84 (4), pp. 505-510Sokal, R.R., Rohlf, F.J., (1981) Biometry, , Freeman, New YorkTracy, J.L., Nechols, J.R., Comparisons between the squash bug egg parasitoids Ooencyrtus anasae and O. sp. (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae): Development, survival, and sex ratio in relations to temperature (1987) Environ. Entomol., 16, pp. 1324-1329Wagner, T.L., Wu, H.I., Sharpe, P.J.H., Schoolfield, R.M., Coulson, R.N., Modeling insect development rates: A literature review and application of a biophysical model (1984) Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am., 77, pp. 208-22

Influence Of Feeding Treatment, Host Density, Temperature, And Cool Storage On Attack Rates Of Tachinaephagus Zealandicus (hymenoptera: Encyrtidae)

Tachinaephagus zealandicus Ashmead is a gregarious endoparasitoid that attacks third instars of muscoid flies, including house flies, Musca domestica L. A colony of this parasitoid was established from samples collected from a poultry farm in Santa Cruz da Conceição, São Paulo, Brazil. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of feeding treatment, host density and temperature on attack rates on T. zealandicus. Parasitoids that were given honey as adults attacked two to three times as many house fly larvae (25 host attacks/female/d) as parasitoids that were given only water or nothing. Host attacks and progeny production by T. zealandicus on house fly and Chrysomyia putoria increased over the range of host parasitoid ratios tested, reaching a maximum of 21-22 hosts killed and 13 progeny produced/female/d at the highest host density of 32 larvae/female. Host attacks were higher at 22°C than at the other temperatures studied (20-29°C), but differences in attack rates were small over the range of 20-27°C (10-13 host attacks/female). Comparatively few hosts (6.3) were attacked at 29°C. Higher rates of progeny production also were observed among parasitoids tested at lower temperatures (9-11 progeny produced/female at 20-22°C) than at 29°C (1.8 progeny/female). Females of T. zealandicus that were stored at 15°C after emergence had highest rates of host attacks (58-62 hosts killed per group of five female parasitoids) and progeny production (174-261 progeny) after 6-12 d of storage at this temperature relatively few hosts were attacked or parasitized (6-9 host attacks and progeny/group) after 0 or 1 d at 15°C.314732738Arellano, G.M., Rueda, L.M., Biological study of the house fly pupal parasitoid, Spalangia endius (Walker) (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) (1988) Philipp. Entomol., 7, pp. 329-350Costa, V.A., (1989) Parasitóides Pupais (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea) de Musca domestica L., 1758, Stomoxys calcitrans (L., 1758) e Muscina stabulans (Fallén, 1816) (Diptera, Muscidae) em Aviários de Echaporã, SP, , M.S. thesis, ESALQFerreira De Almeida, M.A., Pires Do Prado, A., Aleachara spp. (Coleoptera: Staphilinidae) and pupal parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) attacking symbovine fly pupae (Diptera: Muscidae, Sarcophagidae and Otitidae) in southeastern Brazil (1999) Biol. Control, 14, pp. 77-83Ferreira De Almeida, M.A., Pires Do Prado, A., Geden, C.J., Influence of temperature on development time and longevity of Tachianephagus zealandicus Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), and effects of nutrition and emergence order on longevity (2002) Environ. Entomol., 31, pp. 375-380Geden, C.J., Modeling host attacks and progeny production of Spalangia gemina, Spalangia cameroni, and Muscidifurax raptor (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) at constant and variable temperatures (1996) Biol. Control, 7, pp. 172-178Geden, C.J., Axtell, R.C., Predation by Carcinops pumilio (Coleoptera: Histeridae) and Macrocheles muscaedomesticae (Acarina: Macrochelidae) on the house fly (Diptera:Muscidae): Functional response, effects of temperature, and availability of alternative prey (1988) Environ. Entomol., 17, pp. 739-744Heimpel, G.E., Collier, T.R., The evolution of host-feeding behaviour in insect parasitoids (1996) Biol. Rev., 71, pp. 373-400Jervis, M.A., Kidd, N.A., Host-feeding strategies in hymenopteran parasitoids (1986) Biol. Rev., 61, pp. 395-434Jervis, M.A., Kidd, N.A.C., Walton, M., A review of methods for determining dietary range in adults parasitoids (1992) Entomophaga, 37, pp. 565-574Jervis, M.A., Kidd, N.A.C., Fitton, M.G., Huddleston, T., Dawah, H., Flower-visiting by hymenopteran parasitoids (1993) J. Nat. Hist., 26, pp. 67-105Johnston, T.H., Tiegs, O.W., What part can chalcid wasps play in controlling Australian sheep-maggot flies? (1922) Queensl. Agric. J, 17, pp. 128-131Kidd, N.A.C., Jervis, M.A., The effects of host-feeding behaviour on the dynamics of parasitoid-host interactions, and the implications for the biological control (1989) Res. Popul. Ecol., 31, pp. 235-274Leal, T.T.S., Prado, A.P., Antunes, A.J., Rearing the larvae of the blowfly Chrysomya chloropyga (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) on oligidic diets (1982) Rev. Brasil. Zool., 1, pp. 41-44Lewis, W.J., Stapel, J.O., Cortesero, A.M., Takasu, K., Understanding how parasitoids balance food and host needs: Importance to biological control (1998) Biol. Control, 11, pp. 175-183Monteiro, M.R., Pires Do Prado, A., Ocorrência de Trichopria sp. (Hymenoptera: Diapriidae) atacando pupas de Chrysomya putoria (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) na granja (2000) An. Soc. Entomol. Bras., 29, pp. 159-167Olton, G.S., (1971) Bioecological Studies of Tachinaephagus zealandicus Ashmead (Hymenoptera, Encyrtidae), Parasitoid of Synanthropic Diptera, , Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, RiversideOlton, G.S., Legner, E.F., Biology of Tachinaephagus zealandicus (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), parasitoid of synanthropic Diptera (1974) Can. Entomol., 106, pp. 785-800(1992) SAS User's Guide: Statistics, , SAS Institute, Cary, NCSilveira, G.A.R., Madeira, N.G., Azeredo-Espin, A.M.L., Pavan, C., Levantamento de microhimenópteros parasitóides de dipteros de importância médico-veterinária no Brasil (1989) Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz RJ, 84, pp. 505-51

Effects Of Nosema Disease On Fitness Of The Parasitoid Tachinaephagus Zealandicus (hymenoptera: Encyrtidae)

The effects of an undetermined species of Nosema on fitness of the muscoid fly parasitoid Tachinaephagus zealandicus were examined in the laboratory. Infected female parasitoids that were given honey and water lived about one-half as long as uninfected parasitoids under these feeding conditions. Effects of infection on longevity were strongest at 30°C; infected and uninfected females lived 2.8 and 8.7 d, respectively. Infected and uninfected parasitoids that were given only water had similar longevities, but water-only-fed parasitoids had much shorter lifespans than honey-fed parasitoids at all temperatures. Infection did not result in significant lengthening of development times of immature stages, with male and female parasitoids completing development from egg to adult in ≈23, 33, and 60 d at 25, 20, and 15°C, respectively. Overall emergence of uninfected parasitoid adults was 16 times greater than infected parasitoids at 15°C. Emergence of uninfected parasitoids was 11 and 3 times greater than infected parasitoids at 20 and 25°C, respectively, and sex ratios of emerged adults were significantly more male-biased in infected parasitoids at these temperatures than among uninfected parasitoids. Dissections of uneclosed puparia revealed that many infected parasitoids completed development to the adult stage but did not successfully emerge from host puparia. Infected and uninfected females killed similar numbers of hosts (70-75 house fly or Sarcophaga bullata larvae killed per group of five females in 24 h). Uninfected females parasitized significantly more house fly larvae (59.7) and produced more than twice as many adult progeny (311.1) as infected females (34.1 hosts parasitized, 138.3 progeny produced). Infected females parasitized about as many S. bullata hosts as uninfected females and produced slightly fewer adult progeny (588.2 and 460. 1 progeny per group of five uninfected and infected females, respectively). In tests with individual females given house fly hosts daily throughout life, uninfected and infected parasitoids had similar longevities (3.9 and 3.7 d, respectively), but uninfected parasitoids produced 2-5 times as many adult progeny.32511391145Becnel, J.J., Geden, C.J., Description of a new species of microsporidia from Muscidifurax raptor (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae), a pupal parasitoid of muscoid flies (1994) J. Eukaryotic Microbiol., 41, pp. 236-243Becnel, J.J., Undeen, A.H., Influence of temperature on developmental parameters of the parasite/ host system Edhazardia aedis (Microsporidia: Amblospora) and Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) (1992) J. Invertebr. Pathol., 60, pp. 299-303Boohene, C.K., Geden, C.J., Becnel, J.J., Development of microsporidia-infected Muscidifurax raptor (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) at different temperatures (2003) Biol. Control., 26, pp. 1-7Brooks, W.M., Entomogenous protozoa (1988) Handbook of Natural Pesticides, Vol. V. Microbial Insecticides, Part A. Entomogenous Protozoa and Fungi, 5. , C. M. Ignoffo (ed.), CRC Press, Boca Raton, FLBrooks, W.M., Host-parasitoid-pathogen interactions (1993) Parasites and Pathogens of Insects, Vol. 2. Pathogens, 2, pp. 231-272. , N. E. Beckage, S. N. Thompson, and B. A. Federici (eds.), Academic, New YorkBrooks, W.M., Cranford, J.D., Microsporidioses of the hymenopterous parasites, Campoletis sonorensis and Cardiochiles nigriceps, larval parasites of Heliothis species (1972) J. Invertebr. Pathol., 20, pp. 77-94Costa, V.A., (1989) Parasitóides Pupais (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea) de Musea Domestica L., 1758, Stomoxys Calcitrant (L., 1758) e Muscina Stabulans (Fallén, 1816) (Diptera, Muscidae) em Aviários de Echaporã, SP, , MS Thesis. ESALQ, São Paulo, BrazilDry, F.E., Steinkraus, D.C., McNew, W., Microsporidia (Protozoa: Microspora) in pteromalids (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) in broiler-breeder houses of Northwest Arkansas (1999) Biol. Control., 16, pp. 164-169Ferreira De Almeida, M.A., (2000) Aspectos da Biologia de Tachinaephagus Zealandicus Ashmead ( Hymenopter: Encyrtidae), Parasitoide de Larvas de Dipterous Sinantropicos, , PhD Dissertation, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, BrazilFerreira De Almeida, M.A., Pires Do Prado, A., Geden, C.J., Influence of temperature on development time and longevity of Tachinaephagus zealandicus (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), and effects of nutrition and emergence order on longevity (2002) Environ. Entomol., 31, pp. 375-380Ferreira De Almeida, M.A., Geden, C.J., Pires Do Prado, A., Influence of feeding treatment, host density, temperature and cool storage on attack rates of Tachinaephagus zealandicus (2002) Environ. Entomol., 31, pp. 732-738Ferriera De Almeida, M.A., Geden, C.J., Boohene, C.K., Becnel, J.J., Pires Do Prado, A., Microsporidiosis of Tachinaephagus zealandicus (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) (2002) Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz., 97, pp. 527-530Gaugler, R.R., Brooks, W.M., Sublethal effects of infection by Nosema heliothidis in corn earworm, Helioihis zea (1975) J. Invertebr. Pathol., 26, pp. 67-163Geden, C.J., Development models of the filth fly parasitoids Spalangia gemma, S. cameroni, and Muscidifurax raptor (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) under constant and variable temperatures (1997) Biol. Control., 9, pp. 185-192Geden, C.J., Smith, L., Rutz, D.A., Rapid deterioration of searching behavior, host destruction, and fecundity of the parasitoid Muscidifurax raptor (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) in culture (1992) Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am., 85, pp. 179-187Geden, C.J., Long, S.J., Rutz, D.A., Becnel, J.J., Nosema disease of the parasitoid Muscidifurax raptor (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae): Prevalence, patterns of transmission, management, and impact (1995) Biol. Control., 5, pp. 607-614Hogsette, F.A., New diets for production of house flies and stable flies (Diptera: Muscidae) in the laboratory (1992) J. Econ. Entomol., 85, pp. 2291-2294Johnson, D.L., Pavilikova, E., Reduction of consumption by grasshoppers (Orthoptera:Acrididae) infected with Nosema locustae Canning (Microsporida: Nosematidae) (1986) J. Invertebr. Pathol., 48, pp. 232-238Leal, T.T.S., Prado, A.P., Antunes, A.J., Rearing the larvae of the blowfly Chrysomya chloropyga (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) on oligidic diets (1982) Revta. Bras. Zool., 1, pp. 41-44Monteiro, M.R., Pires Do Prado, A., Ocorrência de Trichopria sp. (Hymenoptera: Diapriidae) atacando pupas de Chrysomya putoria (Wiedemann) (DipteraCalliphoridae) na granja (2000) An. Soc. Entomol. Brasil., 29, pp. 159-167Olton, G.S., (1971) Bioecological Studies of Tachinaephagus Zealandicus Ashmead (Hymenoptera, Encyrtidae), Parasitoid of Synanthropic Diptera, , PhD dissertation, University of California, Riverside, CAOlton, G.S., Legner, E.F., Biology of Tachinaephagus zealandicus (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), parasitoid of synanthropic Diptera (1974) Can. Entomol., 106, pp. 785-800Rutz, D.A., Patterson, R.S., (1990) Biocontrol of Arthropods Affecting Livestock and Poultry, , Westview, Boulder, CO(1992) SAS Users Guide: Statistics, , SAS Institute, Cary, NCSilveira, G.A.R., Madeira, N.G., Azeredo-Espin, A.M.L., Pavan, C., Levantamento de microhimenópteros parasitóides de dípteros de importância médico-veterinária no Brasil (1989) Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz., 84, pp. 505-510Sokal, R.R., Rohlf, F.J., (1981) Biometry, , W. H. Freeman, New YorkThomson, H.M., The effect of a microsporidian parasite on the development, reproduction, and mortality of the spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem) (1958) Can. J. Zool., 36, pp. 499-511Veber, J., Jasic, J., Microsporidia as a factor in reducing the fecundity in insects (1961) J. Insect Pathol., 3, pp. 103-111Zchori-Fein, E., Geden, C.J., Rutz, D.A., Microsporidioses of pteromalid parasitoids of muscoid flies (1992) J. Invertebr. Pathol., 60, pp. 292-29

Hospedeiros de Triplasta atrocoxalis (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera: Figitidae: Eucoilinae) coletados em fezes de bovinos e búfalos no Brasil Hosts of Triplasta atrocoxalis (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera: Figitidae: Eucoilinae) colletected in cattle and buffalo dung in Brazil

<abstract language="eng">This study verified the percentage of parasitism and hosts species of the parasitoid Triplasta atrocoxalis (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera: Figitidae: Eucoilinae) in cattle and buffalo dung, collected in the South of Goiás state, Brazil; from January 1998 to June 2004. The pupae were obtained by the flotation method. They were individually placed in gelatin capsules until the emergence of adult dipterous or their parasitoids. The percentage of parasitism in cattle and buffalo dung was 2.5% % and 0.1%, respectively

Ação do fungo Beauveria bassiana, isolado 986, sobre o ciclo biológico do cascudinho Alphitobius diaperinus em laboratório Action of the fungus Beauveria bassiana, strain 986, over the biologic cycle of the Alphitobius diaperinus beetle in laboratory

O presente trabalho foi realizado para verificar a eficácia do fungo Beauveria bassiana em todas as etapas de desenvolvimento de Alphitobius diaperinus e assim saber em que fase ele é mais susceptível ao controle biológico. O fungo B. bassiana, isolado 986, foi testado em duas concentrações (3,4 X 10(6) e 3,4 X 10(8) conídios ml-1) mais um grupo controle. Foram realizadas duas leituras, uma sete e outra quatorze dias após a aplicação dos fungos. Na concentração 3,4 X 10(6), 54% dos ovos tratados estavam inférteis, ocorrendo 54% de mortalidade de larvas tratadas nos estádios I, II e III, 22,5% nos estádios IV, V e VI, 9,5% nos estádios VII e VIII e 24,5% de mortalidade das pupas. Na concentração 3,4 X 10(8), 66,8% dos ovos tratados estavam inviáveis, ocorrendo mortalidade de 56% das larvas tratadas nos estádios I, II e III, 34% nos estádios IV, V e VI, 24,5% nos estádios VII e VIII e 49,5% das pupas. Já no grupo controle, 13,3% dos ovos estavam inviáveis, ocorrendo mortalidade de 10% das larvas nos estádios I, II e III, 4% nos estádios IV, V e VI e 0% de mortalidade nos estádios VII, VIII e em pupas. Sobre o cascudinho adulto, o fungo não teve efeito nocivo em nenhum grupo analisado. Com base nesses resultados, observou-se que o fungo nas concentrações testadas apresentou efeito nocivo às fases do ciclo biológico do cascudinho, com exceção do inseto adulto.<br>The present research was carried out to verify the Beauveria bassiana fungus efficacy in all development phases of Alphitobius diaperinus and to know in which phase it is more susceptible for biologic control. The B. bassiana, 986-isolated fungus, was tested in two different concentrations (3.4 x 10(6) and 3.4 x 10(8) conidium ml-1) and a control group. Two readings were realized, one after 7 days of fungus application and the other after 14 days. At concentration of 3.4 x 10(6) conidium ml-1, 54% of treated eggs were infertile, with larva death of 54% at I, II and III phase, 22.5% at IV, V, and IV phase and 9.5% at VII and VIII phase. For pupa stage 24.5% of death was found. At concentration of 3.4 x 10(8) conidium ml-1, 66.8% of treated eggs were impracticable occurring treated larva death of 56% at I, II and III phase; 34% at IV, V and VI phase, 24.5% at VII and VIII phase and 49.5% at pupa phase. For control group, 13.3% of eggs were not viable with larva death of 10% at I, II and III phase, 4% at IV, V and VI phase and 0% at pupa, VII and VIII phase. About the adult lesser mealworms, the fungus did not present noxious effect at all analyzed group. In conclusion, these results showed that the fungus at tested concentrations presented noxious effect at all biologic cycle phases of lesser mealworms, except for the adult insect