Temperature Tolerance of Native Entomopathogenic Nematodes <i>Heterorhabditis indica</i> and <i>Steinernema surkhetense</i> Isolated from Chhattisgarh

Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) have the potential to supersede larvicidal activity for the management of various insect pests particularly those inhabiting in soil and in concealed environment. Present study describes basic ecological properties of two EPNs- Heterorhabditis indica NBAIRH80 and Steinernema surkhetense NBAIRS81 isolated from Chhattisgarh, India. The effect of temperature on survival, infectivity and reproduction of the two native isolates was studied under laboratory conditions using larvae of Galleria mellonella (Linnaeus, 1758) (Pyralidae: Lepidoptera) as host. The result revealed that these native EPNs are warm adapted species surviving at a temperature range of 15-37 °C, were able to infect G. mellonella larvae at a temperature range of 15-35°C and were able to reproduce successfully within host cadaver at a temperature range of 15-30°C in case of S. surkhetense NBAIRS81 and 20-35°C in case of H. indica NBAIRH80.