Correlation of Transmission of Bean Yellow Mosaic Virus with Salivation Activity of Acyrthosiphon pisum (Homoptera: Aphididae)1

The superficial probing behavior of the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris), was electronically monitored and studied to determine its relationship to the transmission of a stylet-borne virus (bean yellow mosaic virus (BYMV)). Voltage fluctuations which accompanied salivation were amplified and recorded on stripcharts, and the charts were examined to determine if a specific waveform could be correlated with either the acquisition or inoculation of BYMV by the aphids. A distinctive waveform was found to be associated with the acquisition of BYMV in 91.8% of the successful transmissions. A hypothesis is presented to explain how aphids acquire virus during superficial probes into infected plants. No significant correlations could be found between any waveform and the inoculation of BYMV.