Laboratory Virulence of Entomopathogenic Nematodes to Two Ornamental Plant Pests,Corythucha ciliata(Hemiptera: Tingidae) andStethobaris nemesis(Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

Abstract

ABSTRACT Ornamental flowers, shrubs and trees are economically important commodities in the US and around the globe. In this study we evaluated the potential of entomopathogenic nematodes to control two important ornamental pests: 1) Corythucha ciliata (Say) (Hemiptera: Tingidae), a native lace bug that attacks the foliage of sycamore trees, and 2) the recently described exotic pest, Stethobaris nemesis (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), a weevil that attacks amaryllis leaves and bulbs. In the laboratory, the virulence of six entomopathogenic nematode strains (comprising five species) was evaluated on sycamore leaf discs for potential to control C. ciliata, and four nematode species were evaluated for control of S. nemesis. Heterorhabditis indica (HOM1) exhibited higher virulence to C. ciliata than H. bacteriophora (Baine and Oswego strains), H. georgiana (Kesha), and Steinernema riobrave (355); S. carpocapsae (All) virulence was not statistically separated from the other nematodes with the exception of H. bact...