Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita

Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita is a facultative parasitic nematode that can kill slugs and snails. It belongs to the family Rhabditidae, the same family as Caenorhabditis elegans.

P. hermaphrodita is a bacterial-feeding nematode and is a lethal parasite of several terrestrial gastropod families such as Arionidae, Milacidae and Limacidae. It is also able to reproduce on rotting matter or penetrate and remain in resistant slug and snail species where it awaits for their death and will then reproduce on the cadaver (necromeny). P. hermaphrodita was first isolated and documented by A. Schneider in 1859 and was intensively studied in the 1990s by researchers at Long Ashton Research centre who were focused on finding a new biocontrol agent for slugs. P. hermaphrodita was isolated here and developed as a biological control agent (Nemaslug®) for minimising agriculture damage from slugs and snails in 1994.