Host-plant volatiles play vital roles for insects to locate foraging, mating, and oviposition sites in the environment. As one of the devastating invasive forestry pests, causes a great annual loss in China, and understanding its chemical ecology is an important task. The current research was done in terms of chemical analysis, electrophysiology, and behavioral assays on to assess its olfactory reception toward host-plant volatiles.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMEAM1 (Middle East-Asia Minor 1, "B" biotype) and MED (Mediterranean, "Q" biotype) are the two most destructive cryptic species of the Bemisia tabaci complex on the planet. Our previous studies have shown that MEAM1 outcompetes MED on cabbage; the underlying mechanism is unknown. In the Brassicaceae family, the glucosinolate-myrosinase defense system plays a crucial role in deterring feeding, inhibiting growth, and causing acute toxicity against a wide range of generalist herbivores.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPathogen-mediated interactions between insect vectors and their host plants can affect herbivore fitness and the epidemiology of plant diseases. While the role of plant quality and defense in mediating these tripartite interactions has been recognized, there are many ecologically and economically important cases where the nature of the interaction has yet to be characterized. The Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) cryptic species Mediterranean (MED) is an important vector of tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV), and performs better on virus-infected tomato than on uninfected controls.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Even though introductions of exotic species provide ready-made experiments of rapid evolution, few studies have examined the genetic structure of an exotic species shortly after its initial introduction and subsequent spread. To determine the genetic structure of its populations during the initial introduction, we investigated the invasive sweet potato whitefly (Bemisia tabaci Q, commonly known as B. tabaci biotype Q) in China, which was introduced in approximately 2003.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe sweet potato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera:Aleyrodidae), is an invasive and damaging pest of field crops worldwide. The neonicotinoid insecticide imidacloprid has been widely used to control this pest. We assessed the species composition (B vs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) is a phloem-feeding insect poised to become one of the major insect pests in open field and greenhouse production systems throughout the world. The high level of resistance to insecticides is a main factor that hinders continued use of insecticides for suppression of B. tabaci.
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