Efficacy of Heterorhabditis indica Derived from three hosts

The efficacy in terms of virulence and longevity of the entomopathogenic nematode, Heterorhabditis indica produced from three hosts-Galleria mellonella, Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata and Bactrocera cucurbitae was evaluated in this study. Application of H. indica progenies to the fourth instar grubs of H. vigintioctopunctata showed that progenies from G. mellonella showed maximum efficacy with respect to virulence and longevity; it was followed by H. vigintioctopunctata and B. cucurbitae. Virulence in terms of pathogenicity and mortality and longevity (number of days of survival) were observed to be directly influenced by size of the hosts, and larger parents were able to produce more efficient H. indica offspring.