Steinernema scarabaei, isolated from epizootics in larval populations of Japanese beetle and oriental beetle in New Jersey, appears to be best adapted to scarab larvae as hosts. It has high pathogenicity and reproduction rates in scarab larvae and uses a widely ranging foraging strategy with excellent infection of sedentary hosts below the soil surface but a low attachment rate to mobile hosts on the soil surface. In laboratory, greenhouse experiments, and limited field experiments S. scarabaei showed excellent efficacy against a range of white grub species and dramatically outperformed any other nematode species including Heterorhabditis bacteriophora and S. glaseri. In a long-term study, S. scarabaei provided 100% control of 3rd-instar oriental beetle at rates of 2.5 to 0.4 billion per ha at 31 DAT and showed increased populations densities in the soil compared to directly after the application.
Species 1: Rhabditida Steinernematidae Steinernema scarabaei (Entomopathogenic Nematode)
Species 2: Coleoptera Scarabaeidae Cyclocephala (Masked chafer)
Species 3: Coleoptera Scarabaeidae Exomala orientalis (oriental beetle)
Keywords: curative grub control, biological control
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