Abstract
Ecologists have been using immunological assays to analyze the contents of arthropod stomachs for more than four decades. The assay of choice today is microplate ELISA : it is sensitive and, once prefected, relatively foolproof. However, ELISA requires an expensive spectrophotometric reader to interpret and a statistical decision to determine negativity of positivity. Our immunodot assay, using a monoclonal antibody to Heliothis zea (Boddie) arylphorin, is species- and instar-specific, comparable to ELISA in sensitivity, takes less than three hours to perform, and gives an unequivocally positive or negative result when interpreted by eye. Replicated comparisons of ELISA and immunodot assays of homogenates of jumping spiders and sollldier bugs fed the target insect and other noctuids show perfect correspondence. Rapid, easily interpreted assays such as ours will make immunoassay technology more accessible to arthropod ecologists, thereby increasing our knowledge of the role of arthropod predators in biological control of pests
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
