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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #117448
Title: ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF AMBIENT TEMPERATURE SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY AND LOW TEMPERTURE SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY IN STUDYING MITEMORPHOLOGY

Author
item ACHOR, S. - UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
item Ochoa, Ronald - Ron
item AGUILAR, HUGO - UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
item Erbe, Eric
item Wergin, William
item CHILDERS, CARL - UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

Submitted to: International Journal of Acarology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/20/2000
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Mites infect nearly all crops of economic importance, including food crops, timber, and ornamental plants in the U.S. Current estimates place the number of mite pests at approximately 1,900. Many of these cause economic losses through decreases in food, fiber, and fruit production destined for national and/or international markets. This study compares a procedure developed by the Nematology Laboratory, Scanning Electron Microscope Unit, which relies on low temperature fixation of mites prior to imaging, with traditional scanning electron microscope methods. Comparing these technologies will provide researchers with important information that will allow them to better discriminate between available methods for analyzing known pests and/or other potentially harmful mites, and thus allow them to make more efficient use of their resources.

Technical Abstract: Low temperature scanning electron microscopy (LTSEM) has become a popular technique for studying morphology of mites. This study presents four techniques of studying mites using ambient temperature scanning electron microscopy (ATSEM) as a comparison to results obtained with LTSEM. Advantages and disadvantages of both types of microscopy are discussed.