Stem+Eelworm


 * __Common Name:__** Stem Eelworm[[image:Z180173-Nematode_worm_curled_around_a_grass_stem-SPL.jpg width="215" height="318" align="right"]]

__**Phyla:**__ Nematoda

__**Class:**__ Tylenchoidea __**Scientific Name:**__ //Ditylenchus dipsaci//
 * __Location:__** Garden[[image:Stem_eelworm.jpg width="298" height="275" align="left"]]

__**Size:**__ 1-2mm in length.

__**Habitat:**__ On the stems and roots/bulbs of: __**Life Cycle:**__ Female stem eelworms lay a large number of eggs which hatch and become adults within only 2 to 3 weeks in summer conditions. Stem eelworms can survive in a dormant state for several years.
 * Fruits, particularly strawberries.
 * Vegetables, including onions, shallots, garlic, leeks, parsnips, carrots, beans, rhubarb, peas, potatoes, lettuces, spinach and swede.
 * Ornamental plants, including narcissus (daffodils), tulips, hyacinths, scillas, snowdrops, phlox, aubrietias, campanulas, gypsophilas, heleniums, heucheras, hydrangeas, irises, evening primroses (oenotheras) and solidagos.

__**Male and Female Differences:**__ Evidence that the male was less retarded in development than the female, which was rarely found in the adult form on resistant plants.


 * __Human Impact:__** Since they infest bulbs or stems of plants and flowers we typically kill them off with certain sprays that we get.

__**Facts:**__
 * They are nonparasitic.
 * They are the most fully studied of all animals, so far.


 * Zookeeper: Kenzie Davidson**

__**References:**__ __[]__ __[]__ __[]__