Bursaphelenchus Xylophilus - Vector

Vector

Though the PWN is known to be vectored by a number of bark beetles and wood borers, it seems to be most often associated with species in the genus Monochamus, widely referred to as “pine sawyers”. Pine sawyers lay their eggs in the bark of dead timber. The growing larva feeds on the wood, and within the resulting cavity develops into an adult pupa. The J3 stage of the PWN congregate in the cavity around the pine sawyer pupa, molt into J4 (dauer stage) juveniles, and then migrate into the trachea of the adult beetle through its spiracles. During this “dispersive stage” the beetle may transport the PWN in one of two ways. In “secondary transmission” during vector oviposition, the nematode is transported to another dead tree and continues in the mycophagous phase.