Bioassay studies were performed with ten different fungal isolates of six species against two spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae. Among different formulations, Hirsutella thompsonii caused significantly higher mortalities of 61.1, 35.8 and 22.1 per cent at conidial concentrations of 971, 196 and 36 conidia mm-2, respectively. At a conidial concentration of 1457 conidia mm-2, Beauveria bassiana isolate Bb101 caused significantly higher mortality rate of 46.9 per cent followed by B. bassiana isolate B2 (36.1%) and Cladosporium cladosporioides isolate Cc101 (32.1%). Based on the probit estimates, H. thompsonii was found to exert high ovicidal activity with the lowest LC50 of 674 conidia mm2 against T. urticae eggs.
Under laboratory conditions, the virulence of the Kashmir isolate of EPN, Heterorhabditis bacteriophora (SKUASTK-EPN-Hr 01) to Galleria mellonella, Corcyra cephalonica and Bombyx mori showed that after 48-72 h, 100% mortality was recorded in all the test insects. Considering 48 h time and 20 IJs/larva as standard against G. mellonella, C. cephalonica and B. mori, the LC50 and LT50 values for the EPN were 10.17, 28.72 and 23.81 IJs/larva, and 38.64, 53.04 and 49.20 h after exposure, respectively. Again its virulence to the larvae of three different sizes of these insects, viz., small (0.12g, 0.04g, 0.17g), medium (0.18g, 0.05g, 0.59g) and large (0.22g, 0.07g, 2.58g) sized larvae showed that all the three sizes of G. mellonella were more susceptible than that of B. mori and C. cephalonica. Considering 20 IJs/larva as standard against small, medium and large sized larvae, the LT50 value for the EPN was 25.00, 26.45 and 27.21 h; 47.73, 48.92 and 53.16 h, and 46.04, 47.48 and 48.92 h for G. mellonella, C. cephalonica and B. mori, respectively. The production of nematode infective juveniles per larvae was directly proportional to the size and/or body weight of the insect species tested. The average production of nematode infective juveniles per gram of host body weight ranged from 1557.79 to 1933.55 x 103, 217.38 to 335.43 x 103 and 71.03 to 128.00 × 103 in G. mellonella, C. cephalonica and B. mori, respectively. The total time period between the larval mortality and the initiation of emergence, and between larval mortality and the cessation of emergence of nematode infective juveniles from the cadavers ranged from 7-10, 6-8 and 9-12 days, and 19-28, 16-24 and 23-41 days in G. mellonella, C. cephalonica and B. mori, respectively.