Interactions Between Cassava Mosaic Geminiviruses and Their Vector, Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae).

The sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) is the vector of the cassava mosaic geminiviruses (CMGs) that cause cassava mosaic disease (CMD). Synergistic interactions between B. tabaci and CMGs have been hypothesized as a cause of whitefly "super-abundance," which has been a key factor behind the spread of the severe CMD pandemic through East and Central Africa.

Whiteflies stabilize their take-off with closed wings.

The transition from ground to air in flying animals is often assisted by the legs pushing against the ground as the wings start to flap. Here, we show that when tiny whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci, body length ca. 1 mm) perform take-off jumps with closed wings, the abrupt push against the ground sends the insect into the air rotating forward in the sagittal (pitch) plane.

Control of the Tomato Leafminer, Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), in Open-Field Tomatoes by Indigenous Natural Enemies Occurring in Israel.

The tomato leafminer, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick), had established in Israel by 2010, attacking both open-field tomatoes and greenhouse crops.We searched for its natural enemies in open-field tomatoes, and tried to determine their potential for controlling this pest. We surveyed the local natural enemies in open tomato fields and measured their impact on pest populations in an unsprayed field.

Whitefly parasitoids: distribution, life history, bionomics, and utilization.

Whiteflies are small hemipterans numbering more than 1,550 described species, of which about 50 are agricultural pests. Adults are free-living, whereas late first to fourth instars are sessile on the plant. All known species of whitefly parasitoids belong to Hymenoptera; two genera, Encarsia and Eretmocerus, occur worldwide, and others are mostly specific to different continents.

Immature development of Eretmocerus mundus (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae).

The development from egg to pupation is followed for the wasp Eretmocerus mundus, parasitizing the whitefly Bemisia tabaci. We elucidate and describe structural details, histological developments and changes that the different parasitoid and host tissues have undergone during parasitism. These include the presence and apparent function of very large salivary glands, which probably produce substances that help to regulate the host's decomposition and parasitoid nutrition.

Parasitization by the wasp Eretmocerus mundus induces transcription of genes related to immune response and symbiotic bacteria proliferation in the whitefly Bemisia tabaci.

Background: The whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), and the viruses it transmits, are a major constraint to growing vegetable crops worldwide. Although the whitefly is often controlled using chemical pesticides, biological control agents constitute an important component in integrated pest management programs, especially in protected agriculture. One of these agents is the wasp Eretmocerus mundus (Mercet) (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae).

Plant-mediated interactions between whiteflies, herbivores, and natural enemies.

Whiteflies (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) comprise tiny phloem-sucking insects. The sessile development of their immatures and their phloem-feeding habits (with minimal physical plant damage) often lead to plant-mediated interactions with other organisms. The main data come from the polyphagous pest species Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) and Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westwood), which are intricately associated with their host plants.

Host-parasitoid interactions relating to penetration of the whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, by the parasitoid wasp, Eretmocerus mundus.

It has been reported that the aphelinid wasp Eertmocerus mundus parasitizes all four nymphal instars of the sweet potato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Biotype B), with 3rd instars being the preferred hosts. The parasitoid lays its egg on the leaf underneath the host nymph. First instars hatch and later penetrate the whitefly.

Host-parasite interactions between whiteflies and their parasitoids.

There is relatively little information available concerning the physiological and biochemical interactions between whiteflies and their parasitoids. In this report, we describe interactions between aphelinid parasitoids and their aleyrodid hosts that we have observed in four host-parasite systems: Bemisia tabaci/Encarsia formosa, Trialeurodes vaporariorum/E. formosa, B.

Host plant pubescence: effect on silverleaf whitefly, Bemisia argentifolii, fourth instar and pharate adult dimensions and ecdysteroid titer fluctuations.

The ability to generate physiologically synchronous groups of insects is vital to the performance of investigations designed to test insect responses to intrinsic and extrinsic stimuli. During a given instar, the silverleaf whitefly, Bemisia argentifolii, increase in depth but not in length or width. A staging system to identify physiologically synchronous 4th instar and pharate adult silverleaf whiteflies based on increasing body depth and the development of the adult eye has been described previously.

The nymphal-adult molt of the silverleaf whitefly (Bemisia argentifolii): Timing, regulation, and progress.

The developmental progress of silverleaf whitefly (Bemisia argentifolii) 3rd instars and 4th instar/pharate adults was monitored using a tracking system that had been designed to identify synchronous individuals in another species of whitefly, the greenhouse whitefly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum. When reared on greenbean under conditions of LD 16:8 and a temperature of 26 +/- 2 degrees C, the body depth of 3rd instar SLWFs increased from approximately 0.04 mm (Stage 2) to 0.