![]() ![]() Photo credit: Heidi Wollaeger, MSU Extension. Successfully infected wax worms will appear brick red. ![]() Successfully infected wax worms will be beige in color. ![]() The cadavers of the wax worms successfully infected will appear beige to dark red, depending on the species of nematode used for infection (Photos 1-2). After six days, check worms for infection. Store Petri dishes for six days in a dark place at room temperature. The nematodes consume the bacteria and complete one to three generations before they emerge from the dead insects seeking other hosts. Toxins produced by the bacteria cause blood poisoning of the insects usually resulting in their death within 72 hours. ![]() Endosymbiotic bacteria carried within the nematodes are released after they penetrate their hosts. The juvenile nematodes will enter and infect insects through their natural openings. First, place five live wax worms in a Petri dish with approximately 100 live nematodes, or 20 nematodes per host worm, with a few drops (0.5 mL) of de-ionized or boiled tap water. Numerous species of entomopathogenic nematodes can be reared with Galleria wax worms, including Heterorhabditis bacteriophora, Steinernema carpocapsae, Steinernema feltiae and Steinernema riobrave.
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