A broad survey was undertaken to characterise microbes associated with larval outbreaks of the Antler moth Cerapteryx graminis in Cumbria, United Kingdom. A nucleopolyhedrovirus present in all sampled populations at ≤5% prevalence, was characterised via restriction fragment length polymorphism and partial sequencing the Polyhedrin, Lef-8 and Lef-9 genes; indicating a previously uncharacterised species most closely related to Agrotis ipsilon NPV. A survey of the host-associated bacterial community detected a species phylogenetically related to Spiroplasma sp., a male-killing phenotype previously isolated from Lepidoptera and Coleoptera, present at <63% prevalence in larvae. The implications of these associated microbes for host population dynamics are discussed.
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