Revised 10/12/21
Bunonematoidea
Bunonematidae Micoletzky, 1922
All asymmetrical with elaborate heads and various combinations of warts, scales and setae. Small nematodes. Usually found in natural, rather than agricultural, environments.
Many nematode species of the
Bunonematoidea appear to have phoretic relationships with insects, particularly
insects in the order Coleoptera and family Scarabaeidae. The type of phoresy may
be interpreted from the insect body parts invaded by the nematodes and the
elaborate cuticular ornamentations and extracuticular deposits of the nematodes
that apparently aid their survival in the stressful environments of the insect
body (Nazir et al., 2019).
References:
Andrassy, I. 2005. Free-living Nematodes of Hungary, I (Nematoda errantia). Pedozoologica Hungarica 3. Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest, Hungary. 518p.
Nazir, N., Mahboob, M., Jahan, R., Tahseen, Q. 2019.
A Preliminary Study on the Insect Associations and Cuticular Modifications in
Some Phoretic Nematodes. Indian J. Nematology 49:83-90.
Tahseen, Q. Khan, R. Ahlawat, S. 2016. Description of new species of Pterygorhabditis Timm, 1957 and Aspidonema (Sachs, 1949) Andrassy, 1958 (Nematoda: Bunonematoidea) in aquatic habitats from India. J. Helminthology 90:398-409.