We examined the feasibility of externally marking insects with the liquid fluorescent forensic theft deterrent, SmartWater (SmartWater CSI, LLC.). We sprayed captive Lygus hesperus (Knight) (Hemiptera: Miridae), Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), and Hippodamia convergens Guérin-Méneville (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) with SmartWater fluorophore, and then qualitatively examined them for fluorescence by visual inspection under ultraviolet (UV) light and quantitatively measured them with a multiwavelength microplate fluorometer. The results indicate that this product has enormous potential as a taggant for L. hesperus and B. tabaci. However, the marking efficiency for H. convergens was only adequate. The advantages and limitations of using SmartWater as a biological marker for arthropod mark-release-recapture research are discussed.
A molecular gut analysis technique is described to identify predators of Lygus hesperus (Knight), a significant pest of many crops. The technique is unique because it can pinpoint which life stage of the pest was consumed. Sentinel egg masses designed to mimic the endophytic egg-laying behavior of L. hesperus were marked with rabbit serum, while third instar and adult L. hesperus were marked with chicken and rat sera, respectively. Then, the variously labeled L. hesperus life stages were introduced into field cages that enclosed the native arthropod population inhabiting an individual cotton plant. After a 6-h exposure period, the predator assemblage, including the introduced and native L. hesperus population, in each cage were counted and had their gut contents examined for the presence of the variously marked L. hesperus life stages by a suite of serum-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). The whole-plant sampling scheme revealed that Geocoris punticpes (Say) and Geocoris pallens Stal (Hemiptera: Geocoridae) and members of the spider complex were the numerically dominant predator taxa in the cotton field. The gut content analyses also showed that these two taxa appeared to be the most prolific predators of the L. hesperus nymph stage. Other key findings include that Collops vittatus (Say) (Coleoptera: Melyridae) and Solenopsis xyloni McCook (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) appear to be adept at finding and feeding on the cryptic L. hesperus egg stage, and that L. hesperus, albeit at low frequencies, engaged in cannibalism. The methods described here could be adapted for studying life stage-specific feeding preferences for a wide variety of arthropod taxa.
Tracking the spatial and temporal dispersion of insect crop pests, natural enemies, and pollinators often requires a method to distinguish the arthropod of interest. Entomologists have used many techniques to mark arthropods. A few examples include visible markers such as colored paints, dusts, and dyes (Dudley & Searles, 1923;
Flight mills are widely used to investigate insect flight behavior. As technology advances, the means to build a computerized control system for a flight mill has become more accessible in terms of both price and availability of components. However, the specialized electronics and programming knowledge required to build such a system can still present an obstacle to interested parties. Here, we describe a simple and inexpensive flight mill control system that can be easily assembled and operated without specialized experience. The hardware and software components are built around an Arduino single-board microcontroller, which outputs raw data in the form of timestamped detections of rotations of the flight mill arm. This control system is suitable both as the basis for new flight mills and for replacing outdated computer controls on existing flight mills. Additionally, it can be used with any rotary flight mill design that uses an electronic sensor to count rotations.
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