HIGHLIGHTS• The phenomenon of matricidal hatching was observed in Meloidogyne hapla.• Out of 974 females examined, only 14 showed this phenomenon.• Eggs at different stages of development, including first-stage juveniles within the egg and second-stage juveniles (J2) were observed inside of the female body cavity.
ABSTRACT:Matricidal hatching occur when embryogenesis and egg hatching take place within the nematode uterus. This phenomenon is known to occur within entomopathogenic and free-living nematodes, but it is very uncommon among plant-parasitic nematodes. Matricidal hatching was observed in a population of Meloidogyne hapla, originally collected in Connecticut, USA and reared on tomato 'Rutgers' maintained at 24 °C for 60 days in a growth room. Out of 974 females examined, only 14 (1.4%) showed this phenomenon. Second-stage juveniles (J2) were clearly observed inside of the female body cavity. The highest numbers of J2 and eggs observed per female were 57 and 350, respectively. However, the average number of J2 per female was 13, whereas the average number of eggs per female was 90. These findings suggest that this phenomenon is not common in the population of M. hapla used in this study. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report of matricidal hatching in M. hapla.