Mortality Response of Green June Beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) to Four Species of Entomopathogenic Nematodes

Four species of entomopathogenic nematodes, Steinernema carpocapsae (Weiser) (All strain), S. feltiae (Filipjev) (NC strain), S. glaseri (Steiner), and Heterorhabditis bacteriophora Poinar, were tested in the laboratory for their effect on larvae of the green June beetle, Cotinus nitida L. When nematodes were injected into the foregut of larvae (ca. 1,000 nematodes per larva), S. carpocapsae, S. feltiae, S. glaseri, and H. bacteriophora caused similar mortality (65, 45, 65, and 63%, respectively). At a concentration of 10 nematodes per larva, S. carpocapsae produced significantly higher mortality (51%) than the other three nematode species. Increasing nematode concentrations resulted in only a slight increase in mortality of larvae injected perorally with any of the four nematode species. Water filtrates from whole nematodes or ground nematode tissue supernatants from S. carpocapsae and H. bacteriophora injected perorally into the alimentary tract did not kill green June beetle larvae. Thus, live nematodes appeared to be necessary to cause mortality. Subcuticular or peroral injections of S. carpocapsae or H. bacteriophora (1,000 nematodes per larva) produced similar mortality of green June beetle larvae ranging from 60 to 70%. Nematode-killed larvae were dissected (n=277) but only two cadavers contained live nematodes and nematodes did not successfully reproduce in any nematode-killed green June beetle larvae. Possible explanations for the failure of cadavers to produce nematode progeny are discussed.