The use of native entomopathogenic nematodes as biocontrol agents is a strategy to decrease the environmental impact of insecticides and achieve sustainable agriculture crops. In this study, the effect of the surface culture of Steinernema sp. JAP1 over two solid media at 23–27°C on infective juvenile (IJ) production and pathogenicity against Galleria mellonella larvae were investigated. First, the bacterial lawn on the surface of the media with egg yolk (P2) or chicken liver (Cl) were incubated in darkness at 30°C for 48 and 72 h, and 100 surface-sterilized IJs were added. Four harvests were conducted within the next 35 days and the mean accumulated production was superior on Cl (210 × 103 IJs) than on P2 (135 × 103 IJs), but the productivity decreased up to 10% when the incubation time of the bacterial lawn was of 72 h. The mean pathogenicity of in vitro- and in vivo-produced IJs were of 47–64% and 31%, respectively. It is worth noting that none of the two solid media had a statistically significant difference in IJ pathogenicity. Considering that the maximum multiplication factor of IJs on solid media was 2108 and that the pathogenicity against G. mellonella was outstanding, Steinernema sp. has a good potential for in vitro mass production.

Parasitic nematodes of millipedes from Nigeria are molecularly characterized for the first time. During nematode surveys on live giant African millipedes from several localities in Nigeria, 4 species of rhigonematids were identified by application of integrative taxonomical approaches (morpho-anatomy and molecular markers), including Brumptaemilius sp., Gilsonema gabonensis, Obainia pachnephorus, and Rhigonema disparovis. The results of morphometric and molecular analyses of D2-D3 28S, ITS, partial 18S rRNA, and cytochrome oxidase c subunit 1 (COI) gene sequences further characterized the rhigonematid species, and clearly separated them from other related species. Phylogenetic relationships based on 28S and 18S rRNA genes suggest that genera within Ransomnematoidea (Ransomnema, Heth, Carnoya, Brumptaemilius, Cattiena, Insulanema, Gilsonema) and Rhigonematoidea (Rhigonema, Obainia, Xystrognathus, Trachyglossoides, Ichthyocephaloides) clustered rather closer than could be expected in view of their morphological differences. Phylogenetic relationships based on ITS and COI are congruent with those of other ribosomal genes; however, they are not conclusive due to the scarcity of available sequences of these genes for these genera in NCBI.

The occurrence of the chrysanthemum eelworm, Aphelenchoides ritzema-bosi (Schwartz, 1911), in an unusual situation, namely within the tissues of tomato fruits, calls for brief report since, though well known as a leaf parasite of a good number of plants, it has not, to our knowledge, been reported previously from a fruit.

Towards the end of October, one of us (S.H.B.) visited a grower who complained of having a number of tomato fruits from which the calyx tissue came away at the slightest touch. These fruits then rotted deeply towards the centre. Two such fruits were taken from the store for examination in the laboratory. One of them was attacked by the fungus Didymella Lycopersici whilst the other was found to contain eelworms. This fruit was sent by S.H.B. to T.G. with a request for a determination of the species of eelworm present and an opinion on whether it was a parasitic species or not.

On receipt of the fruit the senior author cut it in two by a cut passing along the longitudinal axis from the calyx region and through the central fleshy placenta. It was then seen that the discoloured diseased area was about ¼ in. deep by about ⅝ in. broad and occupied much of the solid fleshy base of the fruit. On teasing up a small portion of the diseased tissues in water and examining under the binocular microscope, considerable numbers of small eelworms were found together with numerous eggs and larvae in various stages of growth.

The activities of selected enzymes of the respiratory chain system in Onchocerca fasciata (Filarioidea: Onchocercidae) have been investigated histochemically. Thus, the localization and distributions of NADH dehydrogenase (EC 1.6.99.3), succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) (EC 1.3.99.1) and cytochrome oxidase (EC 1.9.3.1) were investigated in various tissues of the adult female worm by employing MTT, Nitro BT (dehydrogenases) and DAB (cytochrome oxidase). Different tissues varied considerably in their enzymatic activities. The hypodermis and reproductive tissues showed strong and identical localization of NADH and SDH dehydrogenase activities reflecting high metabolic rates. Little or no dehydrogenase activities were observed in the intestine and cuticle. In contrast to the two dehyrogenases, no activity was observed for cytochrome oxidase in any of the tissues in adult or embryonic stages of the worm. The significance of these results with respect to the energy metabolism of the worm is discussed. It is suggested that O. fasciata lacks a classical, mammalian-type respiratory pathway and that oxidative phosphorylation is of no importance as an energy generating pathway in this essentially anaerobic parasite.

A collection of helminths from a King-Cobra, Naja hannah from Malaya is described. It consists of one species of trematode from the ureter, Styphlodora perstmilts; two species of cestodes in the intestine, namely Bothridium pithonis and Ophiotaenia kuantanensis n.sp., and three species of nematodes, Tanqua gigantica and Occipitodontus fimbriatus from the stomach, and O. edesoni n.sp. from the small intestine. With the exception of Tanqua gigantica all the above named species are new records for the King-Cobra.

1. A new trematode Reesella doviensis n.g., n.sp., from the Oystercatcher, Haematopus ostralegus occidentalis, is described.

2.The validity of including P. progeneticum, P. marilae and P. varium in the genus Psilostomum is questioned and it is suggested that P. marilae be removed to the genus Psilotrema Odhner, 1913.

3.The placing of the genus Ribeiroia in the family Cathaemasiidae is also questioned, and it is suggested that it has closer affinities with the genera in the family Psilostomatidae.

Planorbis leucostoma Millet has been found to be a natural intermediate host for Paramphistomum hiberniae in the Channel Islands.

By feeding infected flesh to experimental animals, and examining the stomach contents of the latter at varying periods after feeding, various workers have shown that Trichinella larvae are released from their cysts within one or two hours after reaching the stomach of the experimental host. (Bugge, 1934, Heller, 1933, 1934, Kreis, 1937.) The actual release of the larvae from the cysts has not been followed, though Kreis (1937) on the basis of the appearance of stained cysts recovered a short time after ingestion, suggests that the larvae are released not only by the action of the gastric juice of the host, but also as a result of secretory activity by the larvae themselves within the cysts.

Sixteen specimens of a small trematode, belonging to the genus Leipertrema Sandosham, 1951, were collected from the intestine of a male Callosciurns notatus. This squirrel was caught at Subang, Selangor, Federation of Malaya,. on 17th December. 1960. The specimens differ from the only other member of the genus, Leipertrema rewelli Sandosham, 1951 from the pancreas of one Orang Utan, Pongo pygmaeus, (type specimens examined) and require description.

1. Haplorchis taichui H. yokogawai and Stictodora manilensis are recorded for the first time in India from dogs.

2. H. helerophyes from Indian cats are very much smaller than those recorded from dogs.

3. A technique has been described to study the chitinous armature of the gonotyl in heterophyid trematodes.

In an experimental larval infection of Ancylostoma caninum in mice, the efficacy of various anthelmintics against the larvae migrated and established in the brain is reported for the first time. Albendazole and flubendazole were the most effective drugs. Thiabendazole, benacil, phenacizole, oxfendazole and mebendazole showed significant larvicidal activity. Tetramisole, levamisole, fenbendazole, Sch 18099, pyrantel pamoate, morantel tartrate and oxantel pamoate did not show any significant activity even at relatively high dose levels.

The teguments of Schistosoma haematobium males from three localities in the Eastern Transvaal and one in the eastern Caprivi were studied by means of scanning electron microscopy. Eastern Transvaal S. haematobium, which occurs sympatrically with S. mattheei, a bovine schistosome also infecting man and which hybridizes with S. haematobium, exhibited certain S. mattheei characteristics. The occurrence of these characteristics were neither related to the prevalence of human S. mattheei infections nor could they be attributed exclusively to phenotypic plasticity. The variation therefore may be geographical and possibly related to the phylogeny of the two species.

Twelve species of digenetic trematodes are reported from birds from North Borneo (Malaysia). A new genus and species described is Transversohelmins borneoensis (Heterophyidae) from Charadrius leschenaultii. Three new species described are Echinoparyphium borneoense (Echinostomatidae) from Amaurornis phoenicurus, Episthmium borneoense (Echinostomatidae) from Alcedo menil:ting verreauxii, and Posthovitellum sabahense (Eumegacetidae) from Rhipidura javanica longicauda. Papillatrema sp. (Eumegacetidae) from Apus apus affinis subfurcatus is described and figured, but is not allocated to species as the specimen is immature. Previously described species reported are: Mesostephanus haliasturus Tubarigui and Masiluñgan, 1941 (Cyathocotylidae) from Haliastur indus intermedius; Acanthoparyphium ochthodromi Tubangui,1933 (Echinostomatidae) from Charadrius leschenaultii; Tanaisia (Tanaisia) fedtschenkoi Skrjabin, 1924 (Eucotylidae) from Aegithina tiphia aequanimis; T. (Tamerlania) zarudnyi Skrjabin, 1924, from Pycnonotus zeylanicus, Anthreptes malacensis borneoensis, and Argusianus argus grayi; Haplorchis taichui (Nishigori, 1924) Witenberg, 1930 (Heterophyidae) from Haliastur indus intermedius and Ketupa ketupa keptupa; Pygidiopsis marivillai Refuerzo and Garcia, 1937 (Heterophyidae) from Butorides striatus; Plagiorchis maculosus (Rudolphi, 1802) Braun, 1901 (Plagiorchiidae) from Hirundo rustica gutteralis.

The cement glands of Acanthocephalus serendibensis have been studied, using some routine histological and histochemical procedures. There are six multinucleate syncytial glands which produce a granular secretion which is a protein-mucosubstance complex, the mucosubstance component being of the neutral type. The secretion granules are seen in the body of the glands as well as in the reservoirs and ducts. The granules presumably coalesce to form the so-called cement which is discharged during copulation and seals off the genital region of the female after copulation and insemination.

Les nématodes des diplopodes malgré les recherches de Leidy depuis plus d'un siècle, ont été peu étudiés par les auteurs plus récents. Au Brésil, la faune de diplopodes est très riche, et les espèces de ces arthropodes récemment décrites par le Dr. Otto Schubart sont nombreuses. Accompagnant la richesse des espèces donnant l'hospitalité, leurs espèces parasites sont considérablement nombreuses. Nos études nous ont amené à admettre une grande spécificité entre parasite et hôte. Certaines espèces de nématodes ont été référées des ”hôtes” d'espèces très éloignés systématiquement et avec une ample distribution géographique, et il nous semble que ce fait soit dû aux difficultés qu'il y a de les caractériser convenablement.

Tests were conducted using a capillary microbalance to estimate the errors introduced as a result of weighing out replicate cyst batches in place of counting.

Experiments with differently sized samples showed that the normal relationship between sample size and accuracy applied to such cases, the error for samples of 100 cysts being usually of the order of less than 10%. There is some evidence that the errors in cyst number introduced as a result of weighing is reflected by an increased error in the larval count, although under the conditions of experiment the increase was barely significant. It is suggested that if replication is increased by 50% or 100% then errors due to inequality in cyst numbers are more than counteracted.

The effect on the pasture contamination level with infective trichostrongylid larvae by feeding the nematode-trapping fungus, Duddingtonia flagrans at two dose levels to first time grazing calves was examined in Lithuania. Thirty heifer-calves, aged 3–6 months, were divided into three comparable groups, A, B and C. Each group was turned out on a 1.07 ha paddock (a, b and c). The paddocks were naturally contaminated with infective trichostrongylid larvae from infected cattle grazing the previous year. Fungal material was fed to the animals daily during a two month period starting 3 weeks after turnout. Groups A and B were given 106 and 2.5×105 chlamydospores per kg of live weight per day, respectively, while group C served as a non-dosed control group. Every two weeks the heifers were weighed and clinically inspected. On the same dates, faeces, blood and grass samples were collected. From mid-July onwards, the number of infective larvae in grass samples increased markedly (P<0.05) on paddock c, whereas low numbers of infective larvae were observed on paddocks a and b grazed by the fungus treated groups. However, the results indicate that administering fungal spores at a dose of 2.5×105 chlamydospores per kg live weight per day did not significantly prevent parasitism in calves, presumably due to insufficient suppression of developing infective larvae in the faeces. In contrast, a dose of 106 chlamydospores per kg lowered the parasite larval population on the pasture, reduced pepsinogen levels (P<0.05), and prevented calves from developing parasitosis.

It is concluded that Bearup's cercaria, described from Pyrazus australis in Australia, is different from Cercaria variglandis; the former develops into Austrobilharzia terrigalensis and the latter into A. variglandis (Syn. M. Chapini Price, 1929; M. variglandis Stunkard and Hinchliffe, 1952).

Bearup's cercaria should be henceforth treated as that of A. terrigalensis and not as C. variglandis.

(Based on 20 specimens and measurements on 5). Body oval to spherical, with a conical bluntly rounded anterior end, 0·783–1·017 long, 0·551–0·756 wide at midbody. Cuticle smooth. Oral sucker absent. Mouth large, subterminal, opening through a funnel-like opening into a muscular, well developed pharynx, 0·064–0·100 in diameter. Oesophagus indistinct; intestine rhabdocoel, prominent, extending to posterior level of testis. Ventral adhesive disc well developed, 0·646–0·852x0·551–0·756, occupying major portion of ventral surface of the worm, divided into 27 alveoli in two rows, 19 in peripheral and 8 in central row. Alveoli well developed, muscular. Marginal organs 19, prominent. Testis single, large, entire, almost always occupying the central position in the body, 0·192–0·275x0·233–0·371.