Environmental Entomology (1994) 23, 487-491

Nancy D. Epsky and John L. Capinera (1994)
Influence of herbivore diet on the pathogenesis of Steinernema carpocapsae (Nematoda: Steinernematidae)
Environmental Entomology 23 (2), 487-491
Abstract: The relationship of insect diet to pathogenicity and reproduction of an entomogenous nematode, Steinernema carpocapsae All strain (Nematode: Steinernematidae) was investigated in the black cutworm, Agrotis ipsilon (Hufnagel). Cutworms fed on collard foliage or on artificial diet were equally infected by and killed by S. carpocapsae. However, nematode progeny production was lower in collard-fed cutworm larvae. The difference in progeny production corresponded to difference in lipid content of cutworms; 210 nematodes per mg were produced from collard-fed larvae, which contained 8% lipids, while 390 nematodes per mg were produced from artificial diet-fed larvae, which contained 16% lipids. Addition of commercially obtained sinigrin, a glucosinolate allelochemical found in collards, to artificial diet at biologically relevant levels also demonstrated suppression of nematode progeny production. It appears that host diet is a salient characteristic in progeny production of entomogenous nematodes.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Database assignments for author(s): John L. Capinera, Nancy D. Epsky

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
environment/habitat manipulation

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Agrotis ipsilon	Cabbage (Brassica oleracea)
Steinernema carpocapsae/Xenorhabdus nematophila (entomopathogen)	Agrotis ipsilon	Cabbage (Brassica oleracea)