Lacerate-and-Flush
The lacerate-and-flush feeding mechanism in Hemiptera is considerably different from that of the stylet-ensheath mechanism. As in the stylet-ensheath method, the lacerate and flush mechanism occurs in plant-feeding hemipterans. However, most lacerate-and-flush feeding insects are carnivorous, and all predatory hemipterans utilise this method (Merritt 2014). Examples of predatory hemipterans are assassin bugs, from the suborder Heteroptera, as seen in the picture to the right (Appendix 10).
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Appendix 10: An assassin bug feeding on a fly.
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Appendix 11: A hemipteran from the Lygaeidae family.
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The feeding mechanism in lacerate-and-flush hemipterans involves the repeated insertion and withdrawal of the stylet into plant or animal tissue (Sharma et al. 2014). The cells pierced by the stylets are liquefied, and saliva is then used to flush the ruptured cell contents into the sucking mouthpiece for ingestion (Sharma et al. 2014; Merritt 2014). An example of a plant-feeding hemipteran that employs the lacerate-and-flush method are the Lygaeidae family, such as in the picture to the left (Appendix 11).
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Mitchell
(2004) states that like the stylet-ensheath feeding hemipterans,
lacerate-and-flush feeders utilise compound in the saliva in feeding. This
occurs by secretion of salivary enzymes that cause cell damage, providing more
efficient liquefying. A variant of the lacerate-and-flush style is known as the
macerate-and-flush mechanism (Mitchell 2004; Sharma et al. 2014). In this variation, less damage is cause by mechanical
thrusting of the stylets and cell destruction occurs primarily by enzymatic
activity.
Other feeding mechanisms: