ARS | Publication request: LATERAL MOVEMENT OF FOUR INTEMONENONS NEMATODES SPECIES IN SAND AT DIFFERENT TEMPERATURES

Submitted to: Society for Invertebrate Pathology Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: September 27, 2001
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: The lateral movement of infective juveniles (IJs) of the nematodes, Steinernema riobrave, S. glaseri, S. arenaria and Heterorhaabditis bacteriophora HP88 in sand was determined at 15, 20, 25 and 30C. The number of IJs moved farther in the same time period as temperature increased from 15 to 30C. The number of IJs extracted decreased at all temperatures as time lapsed. At 30C, IJs of S. riobrave reached the host wax moth (Galleria mellonella) larvaae and killed them within 8 hurs. At 15C, 24 hours were required for IJs to reach the host larvae and 32 hours were required to kill them. The IJs of S. riobrave clearly oriented toward the host larvae and effectively killed them. At 15C, IJs of S. glaseri reached the larvae within 32 hours, but no larvae mortality was observed. Like S. riobrave, the IJs of S. glaseri also clearly oriented toward the larvae and could locate and kill the host. The most interesting behavior was presented by S. arenaria: as temperature increased, more and more IJs moved away from the host rather than toward it. The IJs of S. arenaria did not orient to the larvae and consequently, none of the hosts were killed. The IJs of H. bacteriophora HP88 did not reach and kill the host insects, therefore none of the wax moth larvaae died.