Home 9 Updates 9 News 9 Xylella Files webinar on the mechanics of ‘sharpshooter’ excretion

Xylella Files webinar on the mechanics of ‘sharpshooter’ excretion

Sep 22, 2023 | News

On 26 September, the Xylella files Autumn Webinars will host Elio Challita from the MIT Microbotics Lab to learn more about the mechanics of sharpshooter honeydew excretion. The glassy-winged sharpshooter (Homalodisca vitripennis) feeds on plant xylem and is a known vector of Xylella fastidiosa in North America.

Feeding and waste removal are essential functions for living things. While the effects of feeding on animal form and function have been studied extensively since Darwin, how excretion shapes animal behaviour, size and energy use remains largely unexplored. Challita’s team combined mathematical modelling, CFD simulations and biophysical experiments to elucidate how the mode of excretion is functional for the survival of insects on a highly energy-limited xylem diet.

For further information, please contact Leonardo De La Fuente.

Other News

New Xf outbreak in Spain, near the border with Portugal

New Xf outbreak in Spain, near the border with Portugal

In early July, the Plant Health Service of the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Livestock of the Region of Extremadura in Spain reported the presence of Xylella fastidiosa, subspecies fastidiosa, in a wooded area of Valencia de Alcántara, close...

EU to update the measures on Xylella fastidiosa

EU to update the measures on Xylella fastidiosa

The European Commission proposed an update of the rules to prevent the introduction and the spread of Xylella fastidiosa in Europe. The new provisions include relaxing specific requirements for monitoring and replanting in the “containment zones,” where eradicating...

EU to update the map of Xf infected areas in Apulia

EU to update the map of Xf infected areas in Apulia

The European Commission published a draft regulation adding new municipalities to the Apulia containment zone for Xylella fastidiosa. Within the containment zones, EU member states can apply measures that are less stringent than the measures for eradication but are...