Inoculum Doses and Exposure Periods Affect Recovery of Steinernema feltiae and Heterorhabditis bacteriophora from Tenebrio molitor
Inoculum Doses and Exposure Periods Affect Recovery of Steinernema feltiae and Heterorhabditis bacteriophora from Tenebrio molitor
Ali Murad Rahoo1,*, Tariq Mukhtar2, Ali Murad Jakhar3, Rehana Kanwal Rahoo3
ABSTRACT
In Pakistan, techniques for mass production of entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) are not yet available and the development and use of EPN mainly depends on the use of host insects such as greater wax moth (Galleria mellonella) for in vivo production. Since G. mellonella may not always be available, therefore, yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) could be an alternative host. Therefore, in the present studies recovery of two EPN (Steinernema feltiae and Heterorhabditis bacteriophora) from T. molitor cadavers was compared in relation to the dosage of infective juveniles (IJ) applied and exposure periods. Significantly (P< 0.001) greater numbers of nematodes (predominantly IJ) were recovered from the cadavers of T. molitor that had been inoculated with S. feltiae than H. bacteriophora. The inoculum dose also had an influence on the numbers of nematodes recovered. There were significantly greater numbers of S. feltiae in the 50 and 500 IJ treatments than the 10 IJ dose. On the other hand, the lowest dose of H. bacteriophora did not yield any IJ. Similarly, days did not affect the recovery of nematodes from T. molitor cadavers. However, this effect was consistent over all the exposure periods but in the case of S. feltiae there was a significantly greater recovery from cadavers of larvae that had been exposed to nematodes for longer periods.
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June 2018
Vol. 50, Iss. 3, Pages 799-1198
