Professor of Agricultural Entomology University of Florida Gainesville, Florida
The Silverleaf whitefly, Bemisia tabaci B biotype, is a significant pest attacking ornamentals, vegetable, and agronomic crops in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Bemisia tabaci has a wide host range and can reproduce on over 500 plant species, including more than 30 cash and staple crops worldwide. Conventional pesticides are typically used for whitefly management with leaves residues on vegetable crops and could be detrimental to pollinators. Growers are looking for more sustainable management tactics for Bemisia tabaci. To understand the response of whitefly behavior to the presence or absence of key predators, Amblyseius swirskii and Delphastus catalinae, we performed bioassays by partially or fully exposing whitefly to the predator's and recorded oviposition and the number of offspring that developed. In our bioassays, 4 A. swirskii, and 4 D. catalinae were placed in plastic containers inside two cages (each cage will contain a different predator species) with one small (15 cm) squash plant per cage. After 24 h, two A. swirskii, and two D. catalinae were removed from the arena, but their associated products, such as feces, were not removed. Six adult females, B. tabaci were released into five arenas (treatments): Treatments included 1) A. swirskii predator-exposed (feces etc.), 2) D. catalinae predator-exposed, 3) predator A. swirskii, 4) D. catalinae, and 5) untreated plants (without predators) and kept there for 24 h. The results show significant differences in the number of eggs laid and the number of offspring developed.
