AN EVALUATION OF THE USE OF ELYTRA AND BODIES IN X-RAY ENERGY-DISPERSIVE SPECTROSCOPIC STUDIES OF THE RED TURNIP BEETLE, ENTOMOSCELIS AMERICANA (COLEOPTERA: CHRYSOMELIDAE)

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Abstract
Samples of the bodies and elytra of Entomoscelis americana Brown were analyzed separately by X-ray energy-dispersive spectroscopy. Discriminant analysis revealed that the chemoprints of the bodies of newly-emerged beetles (1 wk old) were distinct from those of post-aestivation beetles (9- to 10-wk old). However, the chemoprints of the elytra of newly-emerged and post-aestivation beetles were not as different as those of the bodies as demonstrated by the overlap in the plot of the first two canonical variables. The variances of the mean difference of individual variables between newly-emerged and post-aestivation groups generally were smaller for elytra than for bodies. This suggests that the chemoprints of the elytra of E. americana are more stable than those of the bodies and consequently the elytra should be more suitable than the bodies in insect dispersal studies utilizing the X-ray energy-dispersive spectroscopy technique.