Table 1.

Effect of surface sterilization of eggs on symbiont acquisition in Elasmostethus humeralis.

	Symbiont detection (no. positive/total)
Egg mass number	Control	Surface sterilization a,b
1	6/6	0/6
2	8/8	0/12
3	15/16	0/18
4	13/13	0/14
5	7/8	0/9
6	6/7	0/7
7	7/7	0/6
8	20/20	0/18
Total	82/85	0/90

^aEggs were treated with 70% ethanol for 10 min and 4% formaldehyde containing 0.1% Triton X-100 for 30 min, and rinsed two times with 70% ethanol.

^bAll samples showed no amplification after 35 cycles of PCR.