Isolates of the entomopathogenic fungi Beauveria bassiana (Bals.) Vuill. and Metarhizium anisopliae (Metsch.) Sorok. were tested against Castnia licus (Drury) larvae, collected from Tabu Distillery sugar cane fields, in Caaporã-PB. The isolates code 645, 604, 512, 447, IPA 205, IPA 202, 610, IPA 198, IPA 214 and CG 001 of B. bassiana, as well as the isolates code 1172, 866, PL 47, IPA 204, CG 423, UOD, 860, IPA 216, E9 and CG 100 of M. anisopliae, originated from different hosts and localities, were tested. At the concentration of 10(8) conidia/ml, the percentage of mortality caused by isolates of B. bassiana ranged from 53.3% to 83.3%, with Lethal Time (LT50) ranging from 8.5 to 14.9 days. The isolate 645 presented the highest potential to control C. licus. For M. anisopliae isolates, the percentage of larval mortality ranged from 43.3 to 80%, with LT50 ranging from 7.3 to 18.0 days. The isolate 1172 was the most virulent. The lethal concentrations (LC50) for the isolates 645 of B. bassiana and 1172 of M. anisopliae, were 1,17 x 10(7) conidia/ml and 2,34 x 10(7) conidia/ml, respectively, thus showing that both isolates are pathogenic to larval phase of C. licus.
Entomopathogenic fungus; microbial control; LT50
