Lehnert Matthew S, Reiter Kristen E, Bennett Andrew, Gerard Patrick D, Wei Qi-Huo, Byler Miranda, Yan Huan, Lee Wah-Keat
Department of Biological Sciences, Kent State University at Stark;
Department of Biological Sciences, Kent State University at Stark.
J Vis Exp. 2017 Dec 20(130):56619. doi: 10.3791/56619.
Fluid-feeding insects ingest a variety of liquids, which are present in the environment as pools, films, or confined to small pores. Studies of liquid acquisition require assessing mouthpart structure and function relationships; however, fluid uptake mechanisms are historically inferred from observations of structural architecture, sometimes unaccompanied with experimental evidence. Here, we report a novel method for assessing fluid-uptake abilities with butterflies (Lepidoptera) and flies (Diptera) using small amounts of liquids. Insects are fed with a 20% sucrose solution mixed with fluorescent, magnetic nanoparticles from filter papers of specific pore sizes. The crop (internal structure used for storing fluids) is removed from the insect and placed on a confocal microscope. A magnet is waved by the crop to determine the presence of nanoparticles, which indicate if the insects are able to ingest fluids. This methodology is used to reveal a widespread feeding mechanism (capillary action and liquid bridge formation) that is potentially shared among Lepidoptera and Diptera when feeding from porous surfaces. In addition, this method can be used for studies of feeding mechanisms among a variety of fluid-feeding insects, including those important in disease transmission and biomimetics, and potentially other studies that involve nano- or micro-sized conduits where liquid transport requires verification.
吸食液体的昆虫摄取各种液体，这些液体在环境中以液池、液膜形式存在，或局限于小孔中。对液体获取的研究需要评估口器结构与功能的关系；然而，液体摄取机制历来是从结构构造的观察中推断出来的，有时缺乏实验证据。在此，我们报告一种用少量液体评估蝴蝶（鳞翅目）和苍蝇（双翅目）液体摄取能力的新方法。用特定孔径的滤纸上混合有荧光磁性纳米颗粒的20%蔗糖溶液喂养昆虫。将嗉囊（用于储存液体的内部结构）从昆虫体内取出，置于共聚焦显微镜下。用磁铁在嗉囊旁挥动，以确定纳米颗粒的存在，这表明昆虫是否能够摄取液体。该方法用于揭示一种广泛存在的取食机制（毛细作用和液桥形成），鳞翅目和双翅目从多孔表面取食时可能共有这种机制。此外，该方法可用于研究各种吸食液体昆虫的取食机制，包括在疾病传播和仿生学中重要的昆虫，以及可能涉及液体运输需要验证的纳米或微米级管道的其他研究。
