Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) are a group of biological control agents that are characterized by their ability to search for hosts, safety to non-target insects and environment, and their ability to be used combined with agricultural chemicals. The objectives of this study were to isolate EPNs from agricultural soil in Egypt and study their virulence against the great wax moth, Galleria mellonella L. (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), for further use in biological control program. Two out of 20 soil samples collected from orchards cultivated with olives and mango were positive for the presence of EPNs, using the Galleria baiting technique. The positive soil samples were sandy clay loam. Sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region indicated that the isolates obtained belong to Heterorhabditis indica. The ITS sequences were submitted to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) and registered under the accession nos. MH553167 and MK300683. The efficacy of the isolates was tested on G. mellonella, using different nematodes’ concentrations. Using 50 IJs/larvae from H. indica Aborawash and ERSAG2 showed 100 and 86% mortality rate after 48 h, respectively. The penetration rate reported in dead G. mellonella was 40% at H. indica Aborawash, while it was 35% in case of ERSAG2.

中文翻译：

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昆虫病原线虫的分离，鉴定和对大蜡蛾圆毒的毒力的初步研究（鳞翅目：Pyralidae）

昆虫病原线虫（EPN）是一组生物防治剂，其特征在于它们能够搜寻宿主，对非目标昆虫和环境具有安全性，以及与农药结合使用的能力。这项研究的目的是从埃及的农业土壤中分离出EPNs，并研究其对大蜡蛾梅毒蛾（鳞翅目：Pyralidae）的毒力，以进一步用于生物防治计划。使用Galleria诱饵技术，从用橄榄和芒果栽培的果园收集的20个土壤样品中，有2个对EPNs呈阳性。阳性土壤样品为沙质壤土。内部转录间隔区（ITS）区域的测序表明，获得的分离株属于印度杂种人。ITS序列已提交给国家生物技术信息中心（NCBI），并以登录号注册。MH553167和MK300683。使用不同的线虫浓度对分离菌的功效进行了测试。使用印度H虫的50个IJ /幼虫，Aborawash和ERSAG2在48小时后的死亡率分别为100％和86％。据报道，在死于印度霍乱的G. mellonella中的渗透率为40％，而在ERSAG2中为35％。