Performance of marking techniques in the field and laboratory for Diabrotica speciosa (Germar) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

Abstract

A reliable marking technique was needed for a mark–release–recapture experiment with adults of Diabrotica speciosa (Germar). Four marking techniques, acrylic paint (spattered or brushed on the surface of the insect); and fluorescent pigments (dusted on surfaces or mixed with diet to produce an ingested marker), were tested. Fluorescent pigment durability for the dusting and ingested techniques was evaluated for laboratory conditions and under simulated field conditions. The impact of the techniques on beetle survival was also assessed. Both acrylic paint techniques caused mobility problems in the beetles, and neither technique lasted for more than 48 h. Both fluorescent pigment techniques were more reliable, but the dusting technique showed a significantly higher mortality than the control, and duration variations between laboratory and field conditions. Use of fluorescent pigments added to the diet was the most reliable technique. This technique allowed the manipulation of the marking period, and provided reliable timing of marker persistence in the field.

Efficiency of pheromone traps for monitoring Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte

“…Several sources of error could not be eliminated. The employed mark–release–recapture procedures might influence recapture rates (Mattioli & Cabrera Walsh, 2008). Handling, and especially marking, may have been quite stressful for D. v. virgifera beetles.…”

Paint marking social wasps: an evaluation of behavioral effects and toxicity

“…Thus, one can use these paints in long‐term studies. Effect of tagging on the survival of insects has been reported for the bug Diabrotica speciosa (Germar) when marked by the ingestion of pigments (Mattioli & Walsh, ). Other paints for social wasps have not been tested for toxic effects.…”

Advances in methods for colour marking of mosquitoes

“…A negative effect of fluorescent powder on the longevity was shown for the codling moth, Laspeyresia pomonella [19] and cucurbit beetle, Diabrotica speciosa [27], but not for the mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae [12], Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri [18], sand fly Lutzomyia longipalpis [28] or the deciduous fruit moths Aegeria pictipes and Argyrotaenia velutinana [29]. Marking with fluorescent dye had no effect on the longevity of the wasp Polistes versicolor [30] or the parasitoid Gonatocerus ashmeadi [31].…”