MOLECULAR IDENTIFICATION OF INSECT INTERMEDIATE HOSTS WITH POTENTIAL PARASITE TRANSMISSION TO THE DEFINITIVE HOST NORTHERN BOBWHITE (COLINUS VIRGINIANUS).

Grassland birds have been declining substantially for the past several years. Habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation as well as climate change are all thought to be the main drivers of the decline. However, as the declines continue to accelerate, it is becoming imperative to examine other factors that may contribute to population fluctuations. The nematodes Oxyspirura petrowi, Aulonocephalus pennula, and Physaloptera sp. are commonly found infecting northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus), a game species of economic importance, and all 3 nematodes use insects as an intermediate host. Here we used polymerase chain reaction techniques to determine the occurrence of the 3 nematodes in 7 insect orders to uncover epidemiological patterns of the greatest potential for transmission to northern bobwhite. Insects were collected from March through September using sweep nets and pitfall traps. An R × C chi-squared test with Monte Carlo simulation was used to determine differences in the occurrence of the parasites across taxa and time. The results of the statistical analysis showed the nematodes are predominantly found in the order Orthoptera, and A. pennula and Physaloptera sp. showed epidemiological patterns in insects. However, no such pattern was observed with O. petrowi. An explanation for the lack of epidemiological pattern in O. petrowi is proposed and the diversity of known insect hosts of the 3 nematodes is increased.

Molecular Identification of Oxyspirura Petrowi Intermediate Hosts by Nested PCR Using Internal Transcribed Spacer 1 (ITS1).

Recently, the heteroxenous eyeworm, Oxyspirura petrowi, has gained attention due to its prevalence in the declining game bird, Northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus), but the intermediate hosts of many nematodes remain unknown. However, identifying the intermediate host of O. petrowi with traditional techniques would be difficult and time-consuming, especially considering there are more than 80 potential orthopteran hosts just in Texas. To screen a large number of samples quickly and effectively, primers for nested PCR (nPCR) were developed using the internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) region. Then the nPCR was used to identify which of the 35 species collected from the Order Orthoptera were potential intermediate hosts of O. petrowi. With this technique, 18 potential intermediate hosts were identified. Later, we collected live specimens of species that tested positive to confirm the presence of larvae, but larvae were not found in the live specimens, nor in the extra tissue of the species that had tested positive for O. petrowi DNA. Despite this, this study demonstrated that nPCR is more sensitive than traditional techniques and can be a valuable tool in determining the intermediate hosts of parasites.

Molecular identification of potential intermediate hosts of Aulonocephalus pennula from the order Orthoptera.

Aulonocephalus pennula is a heteroxenous nematode that commonly infects a declining game bird, the northern bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus). There is a lack of information on the life cycle of A. pennula and the potential effects of infection on bobwhites. In order to better understand the life cycle of this parasite, various species from the order Orthoptera were collected from a field site in Mitchell County, Texas. Using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), nine potential intermediate hosts were identified from the 35 orthopteran species collected. Later, ten live specimens were collected to identify larvae within the potential intermediate hosts. Larvae were present in three of these and were sent for sequencing. Similarly, the presence of larvae was confirmed from extra tissues of samples identified as positive with PCR. This was the first study to document potential intermediate hosts, but future studies are needed to confirm that these species are capable of transmitting infection to bobwhite. However, this study demonstrates that PCR has increased sensitivity and may be a valuable tool when determining intermediate hosts.

Insect-inspired acoustic micro-sensors.

Micro-Electro Mechanical System (MEMS) microphones inspired by the remarkable phonotactic capability of Ormia ochracea offer the promise of microscale directional microphones with a greatly reduced need for post-processing of signals. Gravid O. ochracea females can locate their host cricket's 5 kHz mating calls to an accuracy of less than 2° despite having a distance of approximately 500 µm between the ears. MEMS devices base on the principles of operation of O. ochracea's hearing system have been well studied, however commercial implementation has proven challenging due to the system's reliance on carefully tailored ratios of stiffness and damping, which are difficult to realize in standard MEMS fabrication processes, necessitating a trade-off between wide-band operation and sensitivity. A survey of the variety of strategies that have been followed to address these inherent challenges is presented.

Intra- and interspecific genetic diversity of New Zealand hairworms (Nematomorpha).

Hairworms (Nematomorpha) are a little-known group of parasites, and despite having been represented in the taxonomic literature for over a century, the implementation of molecular genetics in studies of hairworm ecology and evolution lags behind that of other parasitic taxa. In this study, we characterize the genetic diversity of the New Zealand nematomorph fauna and test for genetic structure within the most widespread species found. We provide new mitochondrial and nuclear ribosomal sequence data for three previously described species from New Zealand: Gordius paranensis, Parachordodes diblastus and Euchordodes nigromaculatus. We also present genetic data on a previously reported but undescribed Gordius sp., as well as data from specimens of a new Gordionus sp., a genus new for New Zealand. Phylogenetic analyses of CO1 and nuclear rDNA regions correspond with morphological classification based on scanning electron microscopy, and demonstrate paraphyly of the genus Gordionus and the potential for cryptic species within G. paranensis. Population-level analyses of E. nigromaculatus showed no genetic differentiation among sampling locations across the study area, in contrast to previously observed patterns in known and likely definitive hosts. Taken together, this raises the possibility that factors such as definitive host specificity, intermediate host movement, and passive dispersal of eggs and larvae may influence host-parasite population co-structure in hairworms.

A new genus and species of larval mite (Acari: Prostigmata: Microtrombidiidae) parasitising Orthoptera (Tettigoniidae) from the Sierra Nevada, Spain.

Nevada capileirarum n. g., n. sp. (Acari: Microtrombidiidae: Microtrombidiinae) is described from ectoparasitic larvae parasitising two endemic species of Orthoptera (Tettigoniidae), Baetica ustulata (Rambur) and Pycnogaster inermis (Rambur) from the Sierra Nevada mountain range, Granada, Spain. A key to the larvae of microtrombidiine genera with three dorsal scuta and a coxal setal formula of 2-1-1 is presented.

The nematode community in the Atlantic rainforest lizard Enyalius perditus Jackson, from south-eastern Brazil.

Studies focusing on communities of helminths from Brazilian lizards are increasing, but there are many blanks in the knowledge of parasitic fauna of wild fauna. This lack of knowledge hampers understanding of ecological and parasitological aspects of involved species. Moreover, the majority of research has focused on parasitic fauna of lizards from families Tropiduridae and Scincidae. Only a few studies have looked at lizards from the family Leiosauridae, including some species of Enyalius. This study presents data on the gastrointestinal parasite fauna of Enyalius perditus and their relationships with ecological aspects of hosts in a disturbed Atlantic rainforest area in the state of Minas Gerais, south-eastern Brazil. Two nematode species, Oswaldocruzia burseyi [(Molineidae) and Strongyluris oscari (Heterakidae) were found. Nematode species showed an aggregated distribution in this host population, with O. burseyi being more aggregated than S. oscari. The present study extends the range of occurrence of O. burseyi to the Brazilian continental area.

European earwig (Forficula auricularia) as a novel host for the entomopathogenic nematode Steinernema carpocapsae.

The natural history of many entomopathogenic nematode species remains unknown, despite their wide commercial availability as biological control agents. The ambushing entomopathogenic nematode, Steinernema carpocapsae, and the introduced European earwig, Forficula auricularia, forage on the soil surface. Since they likely encounter one another in nature, we hypothesized that earwigs are susceptible to nematode infection. In the laboratory, the LC(50) for F. auricularia was 226 S. carpocapsae/earwig and the reproductive potential was 123.5 infective juvenile nematodes/mg tissue. This susceptibility depended on host body size with significantly higher mortality rates seen in larger earwigs. In a study of host recognition behavior, S. carpocapsae infective juveniles responded to earwig cuticle as strongly as they did to Galleria mellonella cuticle. We also found that earwigs exposed to S. carpocapsae cleaned and scratched their front, middle and back legs significantly more than controls. Coupled with previous field data, these findings lead us to suggest that F. auricularia may be a potential host for S. carpocapsae.

Male hosts are responsible for the transmission of a trophically transmitted parasite, Pterygodermatites peromysci, to the intermediate host in the absence of sex-biased infection.

Field studies have identified that male-biased infection can lead to increased rates of transmission, so we examined the relative importance of host sex on the transmission of a trophically transmitted parasite (Pterygodermatites peromysci) where there is no sex-biased infection. We experimentally reduced infection levels in either male or female white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) on independent trapping grids with an anthelmintic and recorded subsequent infection levels in the intermediate host, the camel cricket (Ceuthophilus pallidipes). We found that anthelmintic treatment significantly reduced the prevalence of infection among crickets in both treatment groups compared with the control, and at a rate proportional to the number of mice de-wormed, indicating prevalence was not affected by the sex of the shedding definitive host. In contrast, parasite abundance in crickets was higher on the grids where females were treated compared with the grids where males were treated. These findings indicate that male hosts contribute disproportionately more infective stages to the environment and may therefore be responsible for the majority of parasite transmission even when there is no discernable sex-biased infection. We also investigated whether variation in nematode length between male and female hosts could account for this male-biased infectivity, but found no evidence to support that hypothesis.

Three new species of larval Charletonia Oudemans, 1910 (Acari: Prostigmata: Erythraeidae) and the first record of Charletonia krendowskyi (Feider, 1954) from Rhodes, Greece.

Three new species of larval Charletonia Oudemans, 1910 from Rhodes, Greece are described: C. dalegori from an undetermined orthopteran, C. glifadaensis from Oedipoda sp. (Orthoptera: Acrididae: Oedipodinae) and C. kaliksti from Aiolopus sp. (Orthoptera: Acrididae: Oedipodinae). C. krendowskyi is recorded for the first time from Greece. A key to the European species of larval Charletonia is provided.

Stand tall and they still get you in your Achilles foot-pad.

The free-living first-instar larvae of Strepsiptera (Insecta) are the infective stage of the parasitoid. They normally enter the host via the abdominal cuticle, and there have also been reports of entry via the egg of the host. The first-instar larvae of Stichotrema dallatorreanum Hofeneder in Papua New Guinea were found to enter the host orthopteran via the tarsi. This is, to my knowledge, the first report of entry of first-instar larvae of Strepsiptera via the attachment pads (euplantulae) of the host.

Cephalobellus lobulata n. sp. (Oxyurida: Thelastomatidae) a parasite of Neocurtilla claraziana Saussure (Orthoptera: Gryllotalpidae) from Argentina

Cephalobellus lobulata n. sp. (Oxyurida: Thelastomatidae) a parasite of the mole cricket Neocurtilla claraziana Saussure (Orthoptera: Gryllotalpidae) found in Argentina is described and illustrated. It is characterized by a short buccal cavity armed with three teeth, a striated cuticle with the first annule wide with four lobes and the second annule divided in twelve lobes. The male have three pairs of preanal papillae and two pairs of postanal papillae.

Binema bonaerensis n. sp. (Oxyurida: Thelastomatidae) parasite of Neocurtilla claraziana Saussure (Orthoptera: Gryllotalpidae) in Argentina.

The nematode Binema bonaerensis n. sp. (Oxyurida: Thelastomatidae) is described from the intestine of the mole cricket of Neocurtilla claraziana Saussure (Orthoptera: Gryllotalpidae) from Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is distinguished mainly by having a conical tail; three sclerotized arches in the buccal cavity; an excretory pore immediately posterior to the base of the esophagus and the presence of five pairs of male genital papillae with one pair preanal and four pairs postanal.

Binema bonaerensis n. sp. (Oxyurida: Thelastomatidae) parasite of Neocurtilla claraziana Saussure (Orthoptera: Gryllotalpidae) in Argentina

The nematode Binema bonaerenses n. sp. (Osyurida: Thelastomatidae) is described from the intestine of the mole cricket of Neocurtilla claraziana Saussure (Orthoptera: Gryllotalpidae) from Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is distinguished mainly by having a conical tail; three sclerotized arches in the buccal cavity ; an excretory pore inmediately posterior to the base of the esophagus and the presence of five pairs of male genital papillae with one pair preanal and four pairs postanal.

Ocorrencia de nematoides parasitas em conocephalus (orthoptera; tettigoniidae) / Ocurrence of nematodes parasites in conocephalus (orthoptera; tettigoniidae)

Os gafanhotos do gênero Conocephalus, segundo hospedeiro intermediário de Eurytrema coelomaticum (Trematoda: Dicroceiliide) no Brasil, foram capturados de pastagens e dissecados no laboratório. Nematóides parasitas foram encontrados na cavidade celomática dos insetos e foram indetificados como pertenecentes á familia Mermithidae. Estes nematóides podemos ser uma importante ferramenta para o controle biológicos destes insetos na naturaleza

Pseudoparasitism with Gordius robustus.

The Gordius worm is a parasite of crickets and other arthropods, but not of humans. In almost all cases, the association between humans and the Gordius species, such as Gordius robustus, is purely coincidental. Gordius pseudoparasitism must be distinguished from true helminthic disease to alleviate patient anxiety and to avoid an unnecessary course of antihelminthics.

Orthoptera as intermediate hosts of Staphylocystis furcata (Stieda, 1862) (Cestoda: Hymenolepididae).

Cysticercoids of Staphylocystis furcata (Stieda, 1962), the adults of which parasitize the shrews (Soricidae), were found in the thoracic and abdominal cavities of orthopterous insects (Orthoptera, Acridioidea) belonging to five species: Chorthippus apricarius (L.), Chorthippus paralellus (Zett.), Omocestus viridulus (L.), Chrysochraon brachypterus (Ocsk.), and Chrysochraon dispar (Germ.). The cysticercoids are described and their incidence in both sexes of the examined intermediate hosts is compared.

[Larval biology of Cyrnea (Cyrnea) eurycerca Seurat, 1914, a habronemid nematode parasite of the francolin in Togo]. / Sur la biologie larvaire de Cyrnea (Cyrnea) eurycerca Seurat, 1914, Nématode Habronème parasite du Francolin au Togo.

Larval biology of the habronemid nematode Cyrnea (Cyrnea) eurycerca Seurat, 1914, parasite of the Double-spurred Francolin Francolinus bicalcaratus, in Togo, is experimentally studied with the orthopteran Acrididae Tylotropidius patagiatus Karsch as intermediate host. The first three larval stages are described and illustrated. Infective larvae, which occur after two weeks of development at 30 degrees C, are unusually large (3 mm). The biology of this habronemid nematode is compared with the biology of the other Spirurids. It differs by: --an asynchronous penetration of the first stage larvae in the insect adipose tissue, --a short stay in this tissue (about 5 days) with a cell reaction of encapsulation, followed by an active escape of second stage larvae out of their capsule, --free and movable infective larvae in the hemocoele of the insect.

[Biological cycle of Cyrnea (Procyrnea) mansoni Seurat, 1914, a habronemid nematode parasite of birds of prey in Togo]. / Cycle biologique de Cyrnea (Procyrnea) mansioni Seurat, 1914, nématode habronème parasite des rapaces au Togo.

A habronemid nematode in birds of prey, Milvus migrans Bonaparti and Accipiter badius Linné, in Togo, is identified as Cyrnea (Procyrnea) mansioni (Seurat, 1914). Larval development is experimentally studied in the orthopteran Acrididae Tylotropidius patagiatus Karsch. The first three larval stages are described and illustrated. The biology of this spiruroid nematode is distinguished by the unusual rapidity of larval development (infective larvae at 10 days). Comparison of the life cycle of C. mansioni with life cycles of other Habronemid Nematodes parasitizing birds, points out an evolution of larvae from primitive forms of large size and slow development to evolved forms of small size and rapid development. Observations concerning the encapsulation of infective larvae in the intermediate host confirm this larval evolution.

[Studies on the Echinonematinae (Nematoda)]. / Sur les nématodes echinonematinae.

Complementary data on the Echinonematinae have been obtained by study of "The Australian Helminth Collection, formerly the Univeristy of Adelaide, Department of Zoology Helminth Collection, currently housed in the South Australial Museum", and by a morphological and biological study of new material. The Echinonematinae actually known are the following: -- Seurechina chaneeti n. gen., n. sp., parasite of Dasyurus hallucatus (West Australia) does not have large cephalic hooks but about 50 rings of spines covering the anterior fifth of the body. -- Inglechina australis (Inglis and Mawson, 1967) n. gen., n. comb., a parasite of Sminthopsis crassicaudata (South Australia) has 3 rings of large cephalic hooks, but no special cuticular structures in the cervical region. -- Echinonema v. Linstow, 1898, is a parasite of Dasyuridae and Peramelidae. The head bears 3 rings of large hooks and the cervical region about 15 rings of hooks of medium size. The females are monodelphic. -- E. edmondsi n. sp. from Dasyurus hallucatus (Northern Territory) has a long oesophagus and cephalic hooks of the first circle longer than those of the second one. -- E. cinctum von Linstow, 1898, from Isoodon macarourus (N.E. of Australia) has a long oesophagus and cephalic hooks of the second circle longer than those of the first one. -- E. meridionalis n. sp., from Isoodon obesulus (S.E. of Australia) has a short oesophagus and precloacal spines in males. -- E. inglisi n. sp. (= E. cinctum sensu Inglis, 1967), from Isoodon obesulus (Western Australia) has a short oesophagus and no precloacal spines in males. -- E. spp.: the different shapes of the tail in males are illustrated for E. sp. from Perameles and for E. sp. from Isoodon of Tasmania. -- E. cinctum developed experimentally in the Orthoptera Locusta migratoria. The cellular reactions (simple haemocytic capsule) and the morphology of the infective stage are primitive and seem to be intermediate between the Subuluroid and Seuratoid types. The Echinonematinae are interpreted as having been derived from ancestors close to Seuratum (parasite of bats), which adapted to a particular group of Australian marsupials ad evolved a characteristic structure for attachment to host tissues. However they have retained a primitive biology.