Steinernema citrae

 Summary – During a survey for entomopathogenic nematodes in citrus orchards throughout South Africa, a new species of Steinernema was isolated from a citrus orchard on Rietkloof farm, near the town of Piketberg in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. The nematode was isolated from soil using the Galleria-baiting technique. Steinernema citrae n. sp. is characterised by the following morphological characters: third-stage infective juvenile with a body length of 754 (623-849) μm, distance from head to excretory pore of 56 (49-64) μm, tail length of 71 (63-81) μm, and ratio E value of 110 (85-132). The lateral pattern for the new species is 2, 7, 8, 6, 4, 2 and is not typical for the genus. Steinernema citrae is closely related the feltiae-group. The body length of the IJ is close to that of S. texanum and S. weiseri, though it differs in body diam., the length of the pharynx and E%. The male of S. citrae n. sp. differs from S. feltiae in the length and shape of the spicule and body diam. Steinernema citrae n. sp. differs from all species in the feltiae-group in the morphology of the vulva, as it has a single flapped, low, epiptygma. It also differs from the most closely related species, S. feltiae, as there is no interbreeding between the two species. In addition, the new nematode differs from other species of the feltiae-group by characteristics of the ITS and D2D3 regions of its rDNA.