Location, location, location: Feeding site affects aphid performance by altering access and quality of nutrients

Aphid feeding behavior and performance on a given host plant are influenced by the plants’ physical chemical traits, including structural characters such as trichomes nutritional composition. In this study, we determined of soybean aphids ( Aphis glycines ) stem, adaxial (upper), abaxial (lower) leaf surfaces during early vegetative growth plants. Using electrical penetration graph technique, found that stem took longest time to begin probing. Once began probing, sieve elements were more conducive feeding, evidenced less salivation than either surface. whole-plant assays, stems harbored higher aphid populations, had shorter development surfaces. We compared trichome density length adaxial, investigate whether affected performance. There longer stems, which likely resulted in taking probe. Still negative impact population was not observed. Analysis phloem sap composition revealed vascular sap-enriched exudates from sugars amino acids leaves. artificial diet reared supplemented with petiole is agreement results assays. summary, our findings suggest specific location primarily driven accessibility quality rather traits.