Reesimermis nielseni
{{Short description|Species of roundworm}}
{{Speciesbox
|image =
|genus = Reesimermis
|species = nielseni
|authority = Tsai & Grundmann, 1969{{cite journal |author1=Tsai, Y.H. |author2=Grundmann, A.W. |year=1969 |title=Reesimermis nielseni gen. et sp. n.(Nematoda: Mermithidae) parasitizing mosquitoes in Wyoming |journal=Proceedings of the Helminthological Society of Washington |volume=36 |issue=1 |pages=61–67 }}
}}
Reesimermis nielseni is a nematode in the family Mermithidae. It is a parasite of the larvae of mosquitoes, spending part of its life cycle in its host's body cavity and part in the water as a free-living worm. It has been investigated as a biological pest control agent to control mosquitoes.
Description
Ecology
Reesimermis nielseni is a parasite of the larvae of mosquitoes. It is known to infect 22 different species of mosquito in the wild and another 33 species in the laboratory.{{cite book|author=National Academy of Sciences (U.S.). Panel on Perspectives in Mosquito-Control Methods Suitable for Developing Countries|title=Mosquito Control: Some Perspectives for Developing Countries|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wl8rAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA23 |year=1973 |publisher=National Academies |pages=23–26}}
On emerging from their host larvae, these nematodes fall to the bottom of the water body. They become sexually mature in about sixty days and females lay a total of around 2,500 eggs over a period of eighteen days or so. The eggs hatch after four weeks and each preparasitic larva searches for a suitable host; it will die if it does not find one within seventy-two hours. It bores a hole through the cuticle of the host mosquito larva with a stylet, and develops in its body cavity. When ready to leave the mosquito larva, it bores a larger hole through which it emerges. The mosquito larva does not survive because its body fluids leak out through the hole.{{cite journal |author=Petersen, J.J. |year=1975 |title=Development and Fecundity of Reesimermis nielseni, a Nematode Parasite of Mosquitoes |journal=Journal of Nematology |volume=7 |issue=3 |pages=211–214 |pmid=19308158 |pmc=2620124 }}