Fernando E. Vega
My research program is aimed at developing biological control methods that use pathogens for controlling the coffee berry borer, the most serious pest of coffee throughout the world. The damage caused by the insect consists of holes on the coffee berry bored by female adults, followed by oviposition inside the berry and larval feeding on the coffee seed. I am currently investigating the use of fungi that grow within the plant (fungal endophytes) as a possible mechanism for biological control of the insect. Other research areas include understanding the basic biology of the insect, including studies on a bacterium (Wolbachia) and a yeast (Pichia) found in the insect.
Recent Publications:
- Vega, F. E., and G. Mercadier. 1998. Insects, coffee, and ochratoxin A. The Florida Entomologist 81:543-544.
- Vega, F. E., G. Mercadier, A. Damon, and A. Kirk. 1999. Natural enemies of the coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari) (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) in Togo and Ivory Coast, and additional entomofauna associated with coffee beans. African Entomology 7:243-248.
- Vega, F. E., M. A. Jackson, and M. R. McGuire. 1999. Germination of conidia and blastospores of the fungal entomopathogen Paecilomyces fumosoroseus on the cuticle of Bemisia argentifolii and on two types of agar. Mycopathologia 147:33-35.
- Vega, F. E., P. F. Dowd, L. A. Lacey, J. K. Pell, D. Michael Jackson, and M. Klein. 2000. Trapping for autodissemination of entomopathogens, pp. 153-176, in Field Manual of Techniques in Insect Pathology, L. A. Lacey and H. Kaya (Eds.), Kluwer Academic Publishers, The Netherlands [Book Chapter].
- Vega, F. E., L. A. Lacey, A. P. Reid, F. Hérard, D. Pilarska, E. Danova, R. Tomov, and H. K. Kaya. 2000. Infectivity of a Bulgarian and an American strain of Steinernema carpocapsae (Nematoda: Steinernematidae) against codling moth. BioControl 45:337-343.
- Pilarska, D., M. McManus, A. Hajek, F. Hérard, F. E. Vega, P. Pilarska, and G. Markova. 2000. Introduction of the entomopathogenic fungus Entomophaga maimaiga to a Lymantria dispar population in Bulgaria. Anzeiger für Shädlingskunde (Journal of Pest Science) 73:125-126.
- Narang, N., F. Hérard, E. M. Dougherty, K. Chen, and F. E. Vega. 2001 A gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar, Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) multinucleocapsid nuclear polyhedrosis virus from France: comparison with North American and Korean strains. European Journal of Entomology 98:189-194.
- Quimby, Jr., P. C., G. Mercadier, W. Meikle, F. E. Vega, J. Fargues, and N. Zidack. 2001. Enhancing biological control through superior formulations: a worthy goal but still a work in progress, pp. 86-95, In "Enhancing Biocontrol Agents and Handling Risks - NATO Science Series Vol. 339: Life and Behavioural Sciences", M. Vurro et al. (Eds.), IOS Press, The Netherlands [Book Chapter].
- Castillo, A., F. Infante, J. Barrera, L. Carta, and F. E. Vega. First field report of a nematode (Tylenchida: Sphaerularioidea) attacking the coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari), (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) in the Americas. Journal of Invertebrate Pathology (submitted).
- Vega, F., P. Benavides, J. Stuart, and S. L. O’Neill. Wolbachia infections in the coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari) (Coleoptera: Scolytidae). Annals of the Entomological Society of America (submitted).
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