Tiger+Leech


 * __[[image:borneo_3683.jpg width="360" height="233" align="right"]]Common Name:__** Tiger Leech

__**Phyla:**__ Annelida __**Class:**__ Tylenchoidea

__**Scientific Name:**__ //Ditylenchus dipsaci//


 * __Location:__** Garden

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

__**Habitat:**__ On the stems and roots/bulbs of:
 * 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.

__**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.

__**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**__