Agamermis(Nematoda: Mermithidae) Infection in South Carolina Agricultural Pests.
Native and invasive stink bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) and the closely related invasiveMegacopta cribraria(Hemiptera: Plataspidae) are agricultural pests in the southeastern United States. Natural enemies, from various phyla, parasitize these pests and contribute to population regulation. We specifically investigated Nematoda infections in pentatomid and plataspid pests in one soybean field in South Carolina in 2015. Nematodes were identified through molecular and morphological methods and assigned to family Mermithidae, genusAgamermis. This study reports mermithid nematode infection in immatureM. cribrariafor the first time and provides the first mermithid host record for the stink bugsChinavia hilaris,Euschistus servus, and anotherEuschistusspecies, and a grasshopper (Orthoptera: Acrididae) in South Carolina. The sameAgamermisspecies infected all hosts. The broad host range and prevalence suggests thatAgamermismay be an important contributor to natural mortality of pentatomid and plataspid pests. Previous mermithid host records for the Pentatomidae and Plataspidae worldwide are summarized. Further work is needed to assess the impact of infection on populations over a broader range of agricultural fields and geographic localities.
Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Edisto Research and Education Center, Clemson University, 64 Research Road, Blackville, SC 29817.
Francesca L
FL
Stubbins
Plant Nematology Laboratory, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634.
Paula
P
Agudelo
Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Pee Dee Research and Education Center, Clemson University, 2200 Pocket Road, Florence, SC 29506.
Francis P F
FP
Reay-Jones
Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Edisto Research and Education Center, Clemson University, 64 Research Road, Blackville, SC 29817.
Jeremy K
JK
Greene
Agamermis; Mermithidae; agricultural pests; detection; entomoparasitic nematode; hemipteran; pentatomid; plataspid