What is mysteriously killing superworms across the US? Scientists finally know

A virus that has killed superworms across the United States has been discovered by scientists at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. The discovery has been reported in an article in Cell. This has led scientiststo devise a method to identify emerging viruses and pathogens in plants, animals, and humans.

The Zophobas morio black wasting virus has been named after a species of darkling beetle, Zophobas morio, as it has a deadly effect on these insects. The beetle, during its larval stage, appears as large, brown superworms as it emerges from the eggs. They were called “superworm” because the two-inch-long-larvae are bigger than others that are grown as feed.

Jason Kaelber, study author and an associate research professor at the Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine (IQB) at Rutgers-New Brunswick, made the discovery by coming together with Judit Penzes, the first author of the study and a postdoctoral associate at IQB.

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Over a year ago, beetle farm owners contacted Penzes because the superworms were mysteriously dying. A molecular virologist, Penzes had earlier isolated a virus that was killing crickets.

Pet store owners gave her the worms

She started collecting superworms at pet stores in New Jersey. She went to the feeder insect sections of the stores and checked out the worms. “They were all infected. I told the owners of the stores what I was seeing that I was researching this virus, and asked if I could have the container. They were immediately on board. They told me to take as many as I needed.”

She brought them back to the lab and blended them up. She then processed this slurry of beetle juice using a virus purification method that separates the virus out. Then when she focused a fluorescent light, the virus glowed blue.

“I said, ‘I got you,’ when I saw it,” Penzes said. “I knew then it was, indeed, a virus.”

To learn more about the virus, she worked with Kaelber and examined the virus using a cryo-electron microscope. Upon further inspection, they found that the virus is similar to the one affecting cockroaches, but not identical.

“It’s a new one, different from anything that’s been sequenced or imaged before,” Penzes said.

The two are now devising a vaccine after testing a way to protect the Z. morio beetles from disease.