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The effects of trematode metacercariae (Brachylaemidae) on the slugs Milax sowerbii Férussac and Agriolimax reticulatus Müller

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2009

R. Foster
Affiliation:
Zoology Department, The Durham Colleges in the University of Durham*

Extract

1. Infestation of the kidney of M. sowerbii and A. reticulatus by unencysted brachylaemid metacercariae led to a widespread necrosis of the organ. The necrotic debris was ingested into the gut crura of the parasites.

2. M. sowerbii is considered to be a natural intermediate host of the parasite and A. reticulatus to be an unnatural host, because in A. reticulatus parasitization led to a host mortality closely related to the degree of infestation, whereas M. sowerbii withstood the damaging effects of parasitization until the parasites reached maturity.

3. In A. reticulatus the rate of ingestion of food and the rate of egg production were reduced during parasitization.

4. No further effects were observed in either host species.

5. The possibilities and difficulties of using unencysted metacercariae to control pests are discussed.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1958

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