Résumé
A thorough knowledge of C. mbila feeding behaviour is necessary to understand MSV epidemiology and to breed efficiently for plant resistance to the insect. This will contribute to the improvement of the resistance to maize streak disease. The mean fecundity of C. mbila was lower on IRAT 297 than on the susceptible hybrid INRA 508 and the MSV transmission efficiency of C. mbila also decreased on some maize inbred lines from IRAT 297. The feeding activity of C. mbila on maize has been electronically monitored using the DC system combined with simultaneous video filming. Signal characterization was carried out with temporal, spectral, and time frequency analysis. The complete stylet pathway was obtained by optical and electron microscopy observations of serial sections of the leaf tissue containing the inserted stylets. Based on these techniques seven patterns of waveform were identified and grouped into five classes. E achclass was correlated with plant tissue localization and presumed insect activity. There were enough discriminant quantitative variables in spectral and temporal analysis of digital data to proceed to an automatic classification of EPG graphs. This program will help to compare resistant and susceptible maize inbred lines by testing a large number of plants. The preIiminary results of this comparison and its epidemiological implications were discussed. (Résumé d'auteur)