Biology and Control of the Bean Slug Sarasinula plebeia (Gastropoda, Veronicellidae): A Newly Recorded Species in Egypt

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Plant Protection Research Institute, ARC. Dokki, Giza, Egypt

Abstract

In this study the veronicellid slug Sarasinula plebeia was discovered for the first time in Egypt, infesting the nursery plant Platyruscus hypophyllum at Ismailia Governorate. The external morphology and anatomic features of the collected specimens coincide with the descriptions of this species. The life cycle, growth rate and biological control of S. plebeia by pathogenic microbes and the predatory snail Eobania vermiculata were investigated under laboratory conditions. The results demonstrated that slugs began egg laying in December, and deposited eggs in clutches each containing from 12 to 67 oval eggs in the soil. Eggs take from 18 to 21 days to hatch and the hatching period varies between 8 to 11 days. The average life span was 369.95 days and the generation time varied between 287 and 293 days and this indicates that S. plebeia has one generation per year. With respect to the biological control of S. plebeia, Trichoderma asperellum and Bacillus subtilis exhibited the highest pathogenicity against both juvenile and adult stages of the slugs at the highest concentration of 6 × 105 CFU/ml. While Paecilomyces variotii displayed the lowest influence against the two developmental stages of the slug. In the predation experiment, E. vermiculata preferred the young age of S. plebeia slug (eggs and juveniles) and concurrently showed no preference towards adults. Generally, these results highlight the possible role of microbial isolates and the predator snail E. vermiculata as effective biological control agents against terrestrial slugs, especially the new invasive slug S. plebeia.

Keywords

Egyptian Academic Journal of Biological Sciences, F. Toxicology & Pest Control
Volume 16, Issue 2
December 2024
Pages 23-43

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