Short-term probing behavior of Myzus persicae (Sulzer) as affected by fasting, anesthesia, and labial manipulation

Abstract

An analysis was made of the probing behavior of Myzus persicae (Sulzer) during a 5-minute access period on yellow mustard seedlings, Brassica campestris L. Aphids anesthetized with carbon dioxide, with or without subsequent manual manipulation of the labium to expose the tips of the stylets, probed less frequently and effected fewer transmissions of cabbage mosaic virus than did unanesthetized aphids. Aphids that were fasted for 5 minutes after an acquisition probe also gave fewer transmissions, but this reduction was not associated with changes in probing behavior when compared to untreated insects. The lowest rate of transmission was by aphids which had been anesthetized and then manually manipulated to expose the tip of their stylets. But since the probing behavior of manipulated aphids was very similar to that of anesthetized ones, behavior alone could not explain the additional loss in transmission efficiency. In this work neither the duration of the intervals between probes, nor the duration of the probes themselves, appeared to be strongly associated with the variations in transmission that occurred in response to the various treatments.