Nematode isolation from nitidulid beetles with proposal of Sheraphelenchus heterophallus n. comb.

Abstract

Summary The nematode associations of two nitidulid beetles, Epuraea ocularis and Lasiodactylus pictus, and their habitat (substrate) were examined in an experimental stand in Kyoto, Japan. Beetles were collected in October 2020 using banana traps. Molecular and morphological identification recognised two nematode species: Sheraphelenchus sucus and Chylorhabditis epuraeae. Sheraphelenchus sucus was isolated exclusively from E. ocularis, while C. epuraeae was isolated from both beetle species. Dauer juveniles (DJ) of S. sucus were isolated from the substrate, rotten banana. The typological characters of S. sucus DJ are illustrated and photo-documented, and S. heterophallus n. comb. (= Aphelenchoides heterophallus Steiner, 1934 and Parasitaphelenchus heterophallus (Steiner, 1934) Rühm, 1956), recognised during a literature survey, is proposed.