A Commercial Nematode for Mole Cricket Control

In Puerto Rico, the name "changa" is generally applied to Scapteriscus didactylus (Latreille) (Orthoptera: Gryllotalpidae), the most widespread and damaging of the nonindigenous pest mole crickets in Puerto Rico. S. abbreviatus Scudder is also established but much less abundant. We conducted a T-STAR project to efficiently release, establish, distribute and evaluate the entomopathogenic nematode, Stinernema scapterisci Nguyen and Smart (Rhabditida: Steinernematidae), for controlling Scapteriscus spp. mole crickets. The University of Florida negotiated an agreement with Becker Underwood for commercial production of the nematode that is available as the product, Nematac®S. The "mole cricket nematode" has been used effectively to control non-indigenous mole crickets in pastures and turf in Florida since the early 1990s. It parasitizes only Scapteriscus spp. in nature and not indigenous mole crickets that are in a different genus, so it is safe to import and release. The level of mole cricket infection, nematode establishment and dispersal, and suppression of mole cricket populations is being quantified. This project provided data on the occurrence and life history of Scapteriscus spp. mole crickets and on the efficacy of the nematode product. It assisted in establishing markets for Nematac®S in Puerto Rico and will eventually help distribute the nematode across the island to maintain invasive mole crickets at non-economic levels.