BACTERIAL GENERA ISOLATED FROM FIELD-COLLECTED (DIAPAUSING) AND LABORATORY-REARED COTTON BOLL-WEEVILS, ANTHONOMUS-GRANDIS (COLEOPTERA, CURCULIONIDAE)

Little data exist on the bacterial flora of the cotton boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis, which is a common insect pest to cotton farmers in the United States. This investigation determined the total numbers of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria in diapausing field-collected boll weevils and active adult laboratory-reared boll weevils. Identifications were made of aerobic genera isolated from field-collected and laboratory-reared boll weevils that had previously been surface sterilized. The genera found, in order of decreasing frequency, in the field-collected boll weevils were Lactobacillus, Erwinia, Flavobacterium, Enterobacter, and Pseudomonas. The genera found, in order of decreasing frequency, in the laboratory-reared boll weevils were Lactobacillus, Pseudomonas, Streptococcus, Erwinia, Enterobacter, and Flavobacterium, Lactobacillus was the most frequently found genus in both groups. © 1979.