In field trials and supplemental experimentation
presented herein, we demonstrated that cages are not
barriers to infection in the soil by invasive nematodes
and other mortality factors. Campbell and Gaugler
(1993) demonstrated that active host-searching nematodes,
such as S. riobrave and Heterorhabditis spp.
(Lewis et al., 1992; Grewal et al., 1997), are more
successful in finding immobile hosts than mobile hosts.
Based on those results, we might have expected
greater parasitism in caged larvae than in noncaged
larvae, but we did not detect differences. Our data
suggest that the larvae-baited cage is useful in detecting
rate responses among treatments (Fig. 1) and,
therefore, has potential as a method alternative to that
of destructive sampling of trees and monitoring of
adult emergence. These alternative methods are labor
intensive and not always feasible in citrus