Characterization of a population of Pelodera strongyloides (Nematoda: Rhabditidae) associated with the beetle Lucanus ibericus (Coleoptera:Lucanidae) from Georgia

During a field survey for entomopathogenic nematodes in Georgia, in the territory of Borjomi-Kharagauli, a nematode population was isolated from the body of single dead beetle of Lucanus ibericus Motschulsky 1845 (Coleoptera: Lucanidae). Based on morphological characters and molecular analyses, the nematode species is identical to Pelodera strongyloides (Schneider, 1860, 1866), being the first record of this species in Georgia. Morphometrics of the Georgian population agree with the original description, and females differ from males by very few characters. The Georgian population of P. strongyloides was molecularly characterized by sequencing the D2 to D3 expansion domains of the 28S rRNA gene and two new molecular markers as the ITS and the mitochondrial COI gene. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that all P. strongyloides sequences grouped together along with all other Pelodera species.