First Report of the Gastropod-Killing Nematode, Phasmarhabditis californica, in Washington State, U.S.A

Rory J Mc Donnell; Dana K Howe; Dee R Denver

doi:10.2478/jofnem-2023-0013

First Report of the Gastropod-Killing Nematode, Phasmarhabditis californica, in Washington State, U.S.A

J Nematol. 2023 Apr 21;55(1):20230013. doi: 10.2478/jofnem-2023-0013. eCollection 2023 Feb.

Authors

Rory J Mc Donnell¹, Dana K Howe², Dee R Denver²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Crop and Soil Science, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331 Oregon USA.
² Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331 Oregon USA.

Abstract

Phasmarhabditis californica, a commercially available biological control agent in England, Scotland, and Wales (Nemaslug 2.0 ®), was discovered for the first time in Washington State during 2022. Nematodes were recovered from the invasive gastropods Arion hortensis, Deroceras reticulatum, and Oxychilus sp. in garden centers in both Vancouver and Spokane. The 18S ribosomal RNA gene was used to identify the nematodes. This discovery builds upon previous reports of P. californica in California and Oregon and suggests that the species is widespread throughout the west coast of the U.S. Future research directions with P. californica are proposed.

Keywords: Phasmarhabditis californica; Washington; biological control; malacopathogenic nematode; slug; snail; survey.