Tylenchus balsamophila Thorne, 1926
Anguillulina balsamophila (Thorne) Goodey
Reported median body size for this species (Length mm; width micrometers; weight micrograms) - Click:
From leaves of balsam root (Balsamorrhiza sagittata) and mule's ear
(Wyethia amplexicaulis) in Utah and the Sierra Nevada mountains of
California. Also recorded from galls on sunflower (Helianthus annuus)
leaves (Thorne, 1926; Goodey, 1948).
in California Nematode Pest Rating System.
a) cross-section of normal leaf, b) cross section of gall
with indentation at point of entry. From Goodey, 1948.
The following are listed as hosts in various literature sources:
Specimens in UCD teaching collection remain viable up to 3 years in dried leaf galls.
The nematode overwinters in galled leaf tissue, probably in the J4 stage.
In the spring, the juveniles enter the young leaves while they are still
clustered in crowns. They are thought not to be able to penetrate the
leaves after petioles have formed. Several juveniles enter at a single point
which may be evident as a depression. Three weeks after entry, adults have
developed and are producing eggs. By mid-May the juveniles are 1mm long
and in the J4 stage. They do not develop further and become quiescent when
the leaves become dry in July and August. The leaves are crushed by the
snow during the winter.
Galls project mainly from the lower surface of the leaf, 3-4 mm in diameter (Goodey,
Causes leaf galls on Wyethia mollis (Mule Ears") and Balsamorrhiza sagittata (balsam root) in Sierras.
Galls on underside of leaf of Balsamorrhiza sagittata
Goodey, J.B. 1948. The galls caused by Anguillulina balsamophila
(Thorne) Goodey on the leaves of Wyethia amplexicaulis Nutt. and
Balsamorhiza sagittata Nutt. J. Helminthol. 22:109-116.
Thorne, G. 1926. Tylenchus balsamophilus, a new plant parasitic
nematode. J. Parasitology 12:141-145.