Beyond ELISA: a rapid, sensitive, specific immunodot assay for identification of predator stomach contents

Our immunodot assay, using a monoclonal antibody to Heliothis zea (Boddie) arylphorin, is species- and instar-specific, comparable to ELISA in sensitivity, takes less than three hours to perform, and gives an unequivocally positive or negative result when interpreted by eye. Replicated comparisons of ELISA and immunodot assays of homogenates of jumping spiders and soldier bugs fed the target insect and other noctuids show perfect correspondence. Rapid, easily interpreted assays such as ours will make immunoassay technology more accessible to arthropod ecologists, thereby increasing our knowledge of the role of arthropod predators in biological control of pests.