Feeding chamber for myzus persicae Culture (Hemiptera: Aphididae)

Abstract

Some feeding systems have been previously developed for aphids with excellent results, nevertheless, their costs are often high and they are difficult to construct. We developed a feeding chamber for Myzus persicae that is simple, rapidly assembled, and inexpensive. The system consisted of 2 plastic tumblers, one of which was covered with stretched Parafilm and the other with a piece of thin fabric, the diet consisted of 5% yeast extract and 30% sucrose in distilled water. We observed offspring and exuviae during the bioassay, furthermore, the mortality was below 10% at 72 hours. The results obtained with this feeding system indicated that aphids were able to survive and reproduce. This feeding chamber should prove useful in studies to test the effects of growth factors, nutrients, hormones, and chemical compounds on aphids, and it also might be used for other sucking insects.