We investigated the transmission dynamics of a sexually transmitted nematode, Mehdinema alii, in the decorated cricket, Gryllodes sigillatus. Adult crickets were experimentally inoculated with infective stages of the nematode, called dauerlarvae, to determine the role of the female cricket in nematode transmission. We found that female crickets serve only as a means of mechanical transmission, so nematodes do not require passage through a female cricket to be infective. Dauerlarvae were experimentally placed on the genitalia of both sexes. In the male, the dauerlarvae migrated into the gut and proceeded to develop into adult nematodes, whereas those that were inoculated into the female genitalia failed to migrate into the gut. When dauerlarvae were inoculated directly into the female rectum, the nematodes failed to develop. Therefore, the female gut is not a suitable environment for nematode development. Dauerlarvae persisted in the female cricket for up to 12 days post inoculation and remained infective to male crickets.
Sexually transmitted parasites and host mating behavior in the decorated cricket