Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) are a special guild of insect-parasitic nematodes. What sets them apart from other insect-parasitic nematodes are their ability to rapidly kill their host, and their use of bacteria to facilitate their lifestyle. There are an increasing number of species descriptions that include new species of EPNs, even when the newly described species is not in fact an EPN. A recent study on how to differentiate between EPNs and scavengers was recently published. This work was done by Tiffany Baiocchi, Dennis Chang, and Dihong Lu, in collaboration with visiting scholar Keyun Zhang. Congratulations to the authors, this is a nice study that should prove useful to researchers describing new insect-associated nematodes.
