Have a personal or library account? Click to login
Comparative Virulence of Entomopathogenic Nematodes to the Small Hive Beetle (Aethina tumida Murray, Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) Cover

Comparative Virulence of Entomopathogenic Nematodes to the Small Hive Beetle (Aethina tumida Murray, Coleoptera: Nitidulidae)

Journal of Nematology
Volume 57 (2025): Issue 1 (February 2025)
By: George N. Mbata,  Kaitlyn Browning,  Sanower Warsi,  Yinping Li,  James D. Ellis,  Lambert H. Kanga and  David I. Shapiro-Ilan  
Open Access
|Mar 2025

Figures & Tables

Figure 1:

Percent seven-day mortality (Mean ± s.e.) of Aethina tumida wandering larvae after treatment with four population densities of Heterorhabditis floridensis (K22). The data were graphed with one-way ANOVA using Tukey’s Kramer multiple comparison test. Different letters above the bars indicate significant differences (P < 0.05).
Percent seven-day mortality (Mean ± s.e.) of Aethina tumida wandering larvae after treatment with four population densities of Heterorhabditis floridensis (K22). The data were graphed with one-way ANOVA using Tukey’s Kramer multiple comparison test. Different letters above the bars indicate significant differences (P < 0.05).

Figure 2:

Dose-response curve showing the mortality of Aethina tumida wandering larvae given increasing doses of Heterorhabditis floridensis (K22). The dashed red curve represents actual observations. Solid red lines show the intersection of the log dose and 50% mortality to find the LD50, represented by the black star. The model fit was evaluated with R2 = 0.70.
Dose-response curve showing the mortality of Aethina tumida wandering larvae given increasing doses of Heterorhabditis floridensis (K22). The dashed red curve represents actual observations. Solid red lines show the intersection of the log dose and 50% mortality to find the LD50, represented by the black star. The model fit was evaluated with R2 = 0.70.

Figure 3:

Percent mortality (Mean ±SE) of Aethina tumida wandering larvae after treatment with one of three entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) species: Steinernema carpocapsae (All), Heterorhabditis floridensis (K22), and H. georgiana (Kesha) after different inoculation weeks (3, 4, 5, or 6 weeks post-inoculation) in the laboratory persistence experiment. The data were graphed with one-way ANOVA using Tukey’s Kramer multiple mean comparison test. Different letters above the bars indicate significant differences (P < 0.05).
Percent mortality (Mean ±SE) of Aethina tumida wandering larvae after treatment with one of three entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) species: Steinernema carpocapsae (All), Heterorhabditis floridensis (K22), and H. georgiana (Kesha) after different inoculation weeks (3, 4, 5, or 6 weeks post-inoculation) in the laboratory persistence experiment. The data were graphed with one-way ANOVA using Tukey’s Kramer multiple mean comparison test. Different letters above the bars indicate significant differences (P < 0.05).

Figure 4:

Percentage mortality (Mean ±SE) of Aethina tumida wandering larvae following inoculation with entomopathogenic nematodes infective juveniles after four different inoculation weeks (3-, 4-, 5-, or 6-weeks post inoculation) in the laboratory persistence experiment. The data were pooled utilizing three nematode strains. Different letters above bars indicate significant differences (P < 0.05, Tukey’s Kramer multiple mean comparison test).
Percentage mortality (Mean ±SE) of Aethina tumida wandering larvae following inoculation with entomopathogenic nematodes infective juveniles after four different inoculation weeks (3-, 4-, 5-, or 6-weeks post inoculation) in the laboratory persistence experiment. The data were pooled utilizing three nematode strains. Different letters above bars indicate significant differences (P < 0.05, Tukey’s Kramer multiple mean comparison test).

Mean percent mortality (± s_e_) of Aethina tumida wandering larvae after treatments with two entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) species after six incubation weeks (1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6 weeks post-inoculation) in the greenhouse persistence experiment_

Week post inoculationWater (control)Heterorhabditis floridensis (K22)Steinernema carpocapsae (All)
128 ± 10.1aB70.6 ± 6.27bA86 ± 6.86abA
228 ± 10.1aB84 ± 5.31abA85.33 ± 4.42abA
328 ± 10.1aB100 ± 0.00aA98.66 ± 0.81aA
444 ± 23.1aA72.66 ± 3.71bA69.33 ± 3.85bcA
544 ± 13.2aA68 ± 5.22bA56.66 ± 5.27cA
644 ± 13.2aB93.33 ± 1.05aA94.66 ± 2.70aA

Entomopathogenic nematode strains used in virulence experiments

Entomopathogenic nematodeStrainAbbreviation in manuscriptCommercial availability
Heterorhabditis bacteriophoraVSHb (VS)Yes
  H. floridensisK22Hf (K22)No
  H. georgianaKeshaHb (Kesha)No
  H. indicaHOM1Hi (HOM1)Yes
Steinernema carpocapsaeAllSc (All)Yes
  S. rarum17C+ESr (17C+E)No
  S. riobrave355Sr (355)Yes

Mortality (%) of Aethina tumida wandering larvae after treatment with one of seven entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) species after one of five inoculation days (1-, 2-, 3-, 7-, or 14-days post inoculation)_

Days post inoculationMean ± S.E.
Water (control)Heterorhabditis bacteriophora (VS)Heterorhabditis floridensis (K22)Heterorhabditis georgiana (Kesha)Heterorhabditis indica (HOM1)Steinernema carpocapsae (All)Steinernema rarum (17c+e)Steinernema riobrave (355)
1003 ± 300000
203 ± 310 ± 58 ± 45 ± 55 ± 303 ± 3
30c13 ± 4abc10 ± 5abc8 ± 4abc5 ± 3bc25 ± 7ab30 ± 8a5 ± 3bc
73 ± 3d53 ± 5bc88 ± 4a44 ± 8c53 ± 12bc100a80 ± 8ab88 ± 6a
1410 ± 3d70 ± 5bc100 ± 4a78 ± 6ab45 ± 10c100a78 ± 11ab93 ± 5ab
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jofnem-2025-0011 | Journal eISSN: 2640-396X | Journal ISSN: 0022-300X
Journal RSS Feed
Language: English
Submitted on: Jan 15, 2025
Published on: Mar 29, 2025
Published by: Society of Nematologists, Inc.
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 1 issue per year
Keywords:
small hive beetle,
honeybees,
beekeepers,
entomopathogenic nematodes,
persistence of virulence
Related subjects:
Life sciences,
Life sciences, other

© 2025 George N. Mbata, Kaitlyn Browning, Sanower Warsi, Yinping Li, James D. Ellis, Lambert H. Kanga, David I. Shapiro-Ilan, published by Society of Nematologists, Inc.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Previous articleVolume 57 (2025): Issue 1 (February 2025)Next article