Electricity: The Secret Weapon of Parasitic Nematodes in Pursuit of Prey

Static electricity is an invisible force all around us. According to a recent study, it plays a crucial role in the success of certain parasitic roundworms known as Steinernema carpocapsae nematodes. These nematodes are capable of leaping up to 20 times their body length and can infect and kill insects, such as fruit flies.

The study, led by biomechanics researcher Víctor Ortega Jiménez from the University of Maine, found that when a flying insect moves through the air, it builds up an electric charge. This electric charge can be as much as 100 volts or more. This static electricity acts like a magnet, attracting the nematodes toward the flying insect.

To test this theory, Ortega Jiménez and his team conducted experiments to mount dead fruit flies on wires and place them near a nematode surface. They found that when there was no electric charge on the fly, only the nematodes that happened to jump in the direction of the insect landed on the target. However, when researchers applied an electric charge to a suspended fruit fly, even nematodes that initially jumped in the wrong direction were caught up in the electric field and pulled onto the fly.

The study sheds light on how parasitic nematodes, one of the most abundant and diverse organisms on Earth, hunt and infect their prey. It also highlights the importance of understanding the role of electric fields in the natural world.

While researchers have been studying the effects of fluids and airflow on insects and other tiny creatures for a long time, they have recently added electricity to the mix. The findings of this study suggest that electric fields play a significant role in the behavior of many other small organisms, and understanding this could lead to new insights into the workings of the natural world.

This study is also significant in terms of the potential applications for pest control. Parasitic nematodes have been used for the biological control of insect pests for many years. This new understanding of their behavior could lead to developing more effective methods for using nematodes in agriculture.

The study is not the first to investigate the role of electricity in the natural world. Ortega Jiménez has previously studied the effects of the electric force on spider webs, where charged insects are attracted directly to the web's silk. He says that understanding how animals deal with these forces at this scale is critical for understanding the mechanics of the natural world.

The study shows how parasitic nematodes use static electricity to their advantage when hunting prey. It also highlights the importance of understanding the role of electric fields in the natural world and the potential applications for pest control. As researchers continue to study the effects of electricity on the behavior of small organisms, more discoveries will likely be made that shed new light on the workings of the natural world.