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Title: New, Universal AC-DC Electrical Penetration Graph (EPG) monitor allows recording of detailed R- and emf-component waveforms for any piercing-sucking insect

Author
item Backus, Elaine
item RANGASAMY,, MURUGESAN - UNIV. OF FLORIDA
item MCAUSLANE,, HEATHER - UNIV. OF FLORIDA
item Redinbaugh, Margaret
item WAYADANDE,, ASTRI - OKLAHOMA ST. UNIV.

Submitted to: XXI International Congress of Entomology, Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/14/2008
Publication Date: 7/6/2008
Citation: Backus, E.A., Rangasamy, M., Mcauslane, H., Redinbaugh, M.G., Wayadande, A. 2008. New, Universal AC-DC Electrical Penetration Graph (EPG) monitor allows recording of detailed R- and emf-component waveforms for any piercing-sucking insect. Abstract No. 1610. In: Proceedings of the XXIII International Congress of Entomology held in Durban, South Africa, July 6-12, 2008.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Electrical Penetration Graph (EPG) monitoring is the most rigorous means of observing and quantifying the feeding of any piercing-sucking arthropod. However, until now, most studies have emphasized a relatively small number of insects, mostly small-bodied aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) and leafhoppers (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), with almost no blood-sucking arthropods used. EPG holds the potential to significantly improve research on a wider array of species, such as heteropterans, as well as blood-sucking vectors of medical/veterinary pathogens. The key to broadening the applicability of EPG is to improve the electronic design and flexibility of the instrument. A recently designed Universal AC-DC EPG monitor provides either AC or DC excitation current, plus more modern, high-quality amplifiers with a wider range of user-selectable sensitivities than any previous monitor design. We briefly describe the instrument, then provide examples of representative waveforms from the following adult insects: cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii (Aphididae), smoke tree sharpshooter, Homalodisca literata (Cicadellidae: Cicadellinae), black-faced leafhopper, Graminella nigrifrons (Cicadellidae: Deltocephalinae), chinch bug, Blissus insularis (Heteroptera: Lygaeidae), and squash bug, Anasa tristis (Heteroptera: Coreidae). These insects range in size from 0.3 mm to 18 mm in length, a wider array of insect sizes than has ever been recordable in the past. For aphids and leafhoppers, comparisons are made with the same species’ waveforms from older monitors, to show that waveform detail and resolution are highly improved with the new monitor. In addition, examples from chinch bug waveforms demonstrate how simple switches of input resistor values can distinguish between emf-component and R-component waveforms.