A Note on the Incidence of Bacillus thuringiensis in Fruit Fly Larvae in the Sudan

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate and identify the reason for the death
of wild fruit fly larvae in the laboratory. The toxic activity of the presumptive bacterial
isolate from fruit fly larvae was examined on the invasive fruit fly Bactrocera invadens
larvae. The isolate was identified as Bacillus thuringiensis (B.t.) on the bases of
morphological characteristics and biochemical tests. Additionally, the B t. isolate was
sent to Poland for more investigations. Over 80% of the treated larvae were dead under
room conditions compared with untreated larvae where no mortality was recorded after
eight days. Furthermore, symptoms of the infection appeared on the body of treated
larvae, while no symptoms appeared on untreated larvae.