A spectrophotometric technique for measuring particle ingestion by black fly larvae

A spectrophotometric technique was developed to provide insight into the feeding behavior of Simulium vittatum Zetterstedt (Diptera: Simuliidae) larvae. Larvae were exposed to water insoluble Neon Red particles (NRP) (DayGlo®) in a controlled current. The insoluble particles were available for captu...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Entomologia experimentalis et applicata 2013-02, Vol.146 (2), p.293-301
Main Authors: Iburg, Joseph P., Gray, Elmer W., Wyatt, Roger D., Noblet, Raymond
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Absorbance
Acetone
Bacillus thuringiensis
Bacillus thuringiensis ssp. israelensis
Cellulose
Clays
DayGlo
Digestive tract
Diptera
feeding
Feeding behavior
Filtration
Microscopes
Mortality
Neon Red
pigmented particles
Simuliidae
Simulium
Simulium vittatum
Spectrophotometry
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:A spectrophotometric technique was developed to provide insight into the feeding behavior of Simulium vittatum Zetterstedt (Diptera: Simuliidae) larvae. Larvae were exposed to water insoluble Neon Red particles (NRP) (DayGlo®) in a controlled current. The insoluble particles were available for capture by the cephalic fans of the larvae and subsequent ingestion. The length of gut occupied by the particles after a given exposure time was determined by visual inspection and measured with the aid of a dissecting microscope. Larvae were then homogenized in acetone to solubilize the particles. After filtration, the quantity of pigmented particles in the alimentary tract of the larvae was determined using spectrophotometric analysis. The quantity of particles per unit length of the alimentary tract was calculated. Experiments were conducted to determine the ideal concentration of NRP for obtaining an accurate measure of ingestion without interfering with normal larval feeding behavior. Larval mortality following ingestion of insecticidal proteins produced by Bacillus thuringiensis ssp. israelensis was used as an indirect measure of feeding behavior for these experiments. A concentration of 15 p.p.m. of NRP in the larval medium was the highest concentration used that did not interfere with larval mortality following exposure to the insecticidal proteins. Additional experiments demonstrated that components of the experimental matrix did not interfere with NRP absorbance. The final experiment revealed that the consumption of NRP and insecticidal proteins by larvae was influenced by clay and cellulose in the larval medium.
ISSN:0013-8703
1570-7458
DOI:10.1111/eea.12029