Dept. of Zoology, University College of Science, Hyderabad-7.
Presented at Nematology Symposium held at Coimbatore, India in February, 1981
Parasitylenchus coccinellae Imperti and Waerebeke, 1968 was found to parasitise the hosts Menochilus sexmaculatus (F) and Illeis indica Timb (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae). The biology and life history has been studied. Infection was found neither in grubs nor in pupae but only in the adult aphidophagous beetles. More than one generation of the nematode was found in the host hemocoel. The study of morphology of different stages revealed slight differences in the Indian forms compared to Waerebeke and Imperti (1968) forms. The impregnated females and males had bifurcated tail tips, besides differences in dimensions. Due to heavy infection and number of generations in the hosts there was damage to the internal organs of the insect reproductive system.
