The infectivity of the entomopathogenic nematode, Steinernema glaseri against the moringa hairy caterpillar, Eupterote mollifera

Abstract

The entomopathogenic nematode, Steinernema glaseri was tested against the Moringa hairy caterpillar, Eupterote mollifera in laboratory investigations. It was highly effective against third, fourth and fifth instars of E. mollifera with LC50 and LT50 in the range of 16.5-24.1 infective juveniles (IJ) per larva and 50.3-69.7 h, respectively. The mortality rate decreased with increase in age of the larvae. Penetration of IJ was less in E. mollifera larvae (18-56%) than in Galleria mellonella larvae (45-85%) but penetration of both species differed significantly with the number of IJ applied and the age of the larvae. The yield of IJ per larva was significantly less (0.11-0.21 × 105 per g of larva) in E. mollifera than in G. mellonella (2.75-3.87 × 105 per g of larva). Spray application of IJ of S. glaseri at a concentration of 1000 IJ per 10 ml was found to be effective, with a mortality of 83.3% of fourth instar larvae of E. mollifera.