Dear Editor,
In some gardens in the community of Alamar, located in the eastern zone of Havana City, Cuba, several last instars larvae of Pseudosphink tetrio Lin. (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) were found on ornamental plants belonging to Plumeria genus. The larvae, with more than 10 cm long, consumed high quantities of leaves per day. In Alamar, where population density is very high within Havana, no chemical pesticides would be used and biological control agents would be the favorite choice. For this reason, the larvae were collected and treated with entomopathogenic nematodes in vitro (Petri dishes) in the Agricultural Nematology Laboratory at the National Center for Plant and Animal Health (CENSA) in Mayabeque province. Nematodes of the specie Heterorhabditis amazonensis Andaló et al. strain HC1 were applied in aqueous solution at 105 nematodes per plate containing 5 larvae. The nematodes caused 100 % larval death in 24-48 hour, with odorless, dark brown larval bodies. Reproduction of the nematodes was completed inside the larvae, showing that the entry and development of these entomopathogenic nematodes was the cause of the larval death. This strain of entomopathogenic nematode is mass reared at CENSA and they are the active ingredient of BionemC®, a commercial product available for pest control. Some in situ trials must be conducted to determine the dose and frequency to apply to control P. tetrio outbreaks in gardens in Alamar.