Susceptibility of the House Fly, Musca Domestica (Diptera: Muscidae), to the Entomogenous Nematodes Steinernema Feltiae, S. Glaseri (Steinernematidae), and Heterorhabditis Heliothidis (Heterorhabditidae)1

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Abstract
The infectivity of the nematodes Steinernema feltiae, S. glaseri, and Heterorhabditis heliothidis for the larval, pupal, adult stages of the house fly were evaluated under different habitat conditions. Second- and 3rd-instar larvae and adult flies were highly susceptible to S. feltiae and H. heliothidis when hosts were confined in petri dishes containing nematode-treated filter paper. Larvae were not susceptible to S. glaseri, and pupae within puparia were refractory to infection by all 3 species. When 2nd- and 3rd-instar larvae were exposed to nematodes in rearing medium, S. feltiae caused higher mortality (55–61%) than H. heliothidis (11–26%) at the highest dosage of 5,000 nematodes per host. Both S. feltiae and H. heliothidis were more infective for 3rd-instar larvae (21–29%) than for 2nd-instar larvae (2–6%) at this dosage in poultry manure. When adult flies were offered S. feltiae suspensions in a 5% sucrose bait on cotton balls, mortality ranged from 53 to 67% at dose rates ranging from 1,000 to 100,000 nematodes per milliliter of bait.

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