Induction of Resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis in a Laboratory Strain of House Flies

Abstract

During the past few years the insecticidal properties of Bacillus thuringiensis var. thuringiensis Berliner, have been evaluated extensively. During this time Feigin (1963) was unable to induce resistance to this material in house flies, Musca domestica L., and indicated that development of resistance to it by house flies would he relatively slow. However, preliminary studies at this laboratory in 1962 indicated that adult house flies could develop some resistance to this pathogen. Work on this study was conducted in 1963 and 1964, apparently simultaneously to that by Harvey and Howell (1964), and the results obtained were in agreement with theirs. Since no other reports of resistance by insects to this material have appeared, this work is offered to confirm their research.