Zoology Faculty Work
Title
Mermithid Nematode Infection in a Colony of Blue-Winged Grasshoppers (Tropidacris Collaris)
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2009
Publication Title
Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine
Volume Number
39
Issue Number
3
DOI
10.1638/2007-0179.1
Abstract
A die-off occurred in a captive colony of blue-winged grasshoppers (Tropidacris collaris) at the Toronto Zoo. One fourth of the colony died within a year due to infection with worms initially mistaken for nematomorphs but later identified as nematodes belonging to the Mermithidae, genus Mermis. Mortality persisted and the grasshopper population dwindled over the following years. Mermithid larvae developed in the hemocoel of the insects until they eventually emerged from a hollowed-out exoskeleton. Circumstantial evidence suggests that the parasites were introduced with raspberry browse that was grown on site and contaminated with mermithid eggs.
ISSN
1042-7260
First Page
488
Last Page
492
Recommended Citation
Carreno, Ramon A.; Attard, Lydia; Pare, Jean; Peregrine, Andrew; Dutton, Christopher; and Mason, Thomas, "Mermithid Nematode Infection in a Colony of Blue-Winged Grasshoppers (Tropidacris Collaris)" (2009). Zoology Faculty Work. 4.
https://digitalcommons.owu.edu/zool_pubs/4
Link Out URL
https://doi.org/10.1638/2007-0179.1