Use of LdNPV and Entomophaga maimaiga as Biocontrol Agents of the Spongy Moth
The objective of creating this metaanalysis was to analyze the effectiveness of two different pathogens, LdNPV and Entomophaga maimaiga, for use in biocontrol of Lymantria dispar, or the spongy moth, formerly known as the gypsy moth. Spongy moths are an invasive species in North America and can cause severe damage to forests as their larvae can quickly strip trees of their leaves and become widespread. Different biocontrol agents have been proposed as a possible way to prevent the damage to forests that spongy moths cause. This metaanalysis considered the effectiveness of biocontrol by disease prevalence when introduced into spongy moth populations and the percent larval mortality. Six studies from both laboratory settings and field studies were compiled and compared for effectiveness in two categories, disease prevalence and larval mortality, with disease prevalence primarily studied in the field and larval mortality studied both in the field and in a laboratory setting in the recorded studies. LdNPV was found to be less studied overall and have a disease prevalence of 54.6 percent over one and a percentage larval mortality ranging from 4 to 55.1 percent over three studies. Entomophaga maimaiga was found to have disease prevalence in populations ranging from 16 to 54.6 percent over five studies and percentage of larval mortality ranging from 3.5 percent to 93.3 percent over six studies. Entomophaga maimaiga and LdNPV were concluded to have promising prospects as biocontrol agents of the spongy moth, but more research is needed to test the effectiveness of these pathogens in the field.