Electropenetrography (EPG) Online Workshop 

The purpose of the course is to provide detailed instructional materials to learn how to perform electropenetrography (EPG) research. The course is designed for graduate students and professional researchers in Entomology, Veterinary and Medical Sciences, especially for those studying feeding of piercing-sucking arthropods such as hemipterans (aphids, leaf- and planthoppers, psyllids, whiteflies, mealybugs and others), biting flies (mosquitoes, midges, sand flies, and others) and ticks.  Other types of arthropods, like chewing feeders, can also be studied.

Course Format

The course is designed to be a fully self-guided, hands-on experience about setting up an AC-DC EPG monitor, wiring and recording arthropods, measuring waveforms, and statistically analyzing their data; in short, everything you need to do good EPG research. 

There is an abundance of readings, handouts, files of example waveforms, analysis programs, and in-depth explanatory lectures on the history, electronic principles, and applications of EPG to modern research.  Even for researchers using a DC EPG monitor, the course provides a wealth of in-depth knowledge available nowhere else.

Topics Covered

• How-to instructional videos on making silver glue, setting up an AC-DC monitor, wiring aphids and leafhoppers, starting and reviewing recordings
• Electronics of EPG primary circuits
• Mechanisms of hemipteran feeding - anatomy
• Mechanisms of hemipteran feeding – behavior
• Aphid feeding waveforms and Designing EPG experiments
• Electronics of EPG secondary circuits
• Understanding AC-DC waveforms and impacts on your research
• Whitefly and psyllid feeding and waveforms
• Leafhopper feeding and waveforms
• Heteropteran feeding and waveforms
• Mosquito/tick feeding and waveforms
• Measuring EPG waveforms
• Naming conventions for EPG statistical variables
• Statistical analysis programs
• Histological correlations of waveforms

Instructors/Contacts

Instructor: Elaine A. Backus, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Parlier, CA, USA 

Co-Instructor: Holly Shugart, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA 

Hosted by Lauren Diepenbrock, University of Florida, Citrus Research & Education Center, Lake Alfred, FL, USA

For more information please contact Lauren Diepenbrock at ldiepenbrock@ufl.edu or Elaine Backus at elaine.backus@usda.gov. 

Enrollment is by email address. Certificate of completion issued only to the person enrolled. 

NDA889 form is available upon request