Simple and Rapid Detection of Salivary Sheaths at Philaenus spumarius Feeding Points

Hemipteran plant sap feeders acquire food by inserting their piercing–sucking mouthparts into the apoplast (xylem sap feeders) or symplast (phloem sap feeders). When feeding, these insects seal their stylets inside the plant with a salivary sheath, minimising embolisms. The main impact of the insect on the host or food plant consists of sucking plant sap, transmitting phytopathogenic agents, or triggering galls as hypertrophic and/or hyperplastic neoformations. This paper proposes a rapid method for locating and counting the salivary sheaths of Philaenus spumarius (the Meadow Spittlebug), the primary Italian vector of Xylella fastidiosa, at the feeding point on its host or food plants. Hand-sliced stems of herbs hosting juveniles and olive twigs or leaves feeding the adult spittlebug, preserved while mounted in 75% ethanol (v/v), show the salivary sheaths. Alternative dyeing with acid fuchsin, chlorazol black, or phloroglucinol, and diaphanisation with Essig’s fluid alone or in combination with benzyl alcohol, may help with observations. The 75% EtOH solution provides a better compromise, yielding rapid evidence. The other methods offer similar outcomes but require more time and effort and expose the operator to harmful dyes. Assessing vectors’ access to plants may enable us to quantify the potential number of pathogen transmission events or to spot rejecting clones, thereby advancing the development of robust, effective control strategies that incorporate resistance.