Whiteflies (Hemiptera, Aleyrodidae) are represented by more than 1,500 herbivorous species around the world. Some of them are notorious pests of cassava (Manihot esculenta), a primary food crop in the tropics. Particularly destructive is a complex of Neotropical cassava whiteflies whose distribution remains restricted to their native range. Despite their importance, neither their distribution, ...

The Featured Creatures collection provides in-depth profiles of insects, nematodes, arachnids and other organisms relevant to Florida. These are intended for the use interested laypersons with some knowledge biology as well academic audiences.

Two new species of Encarsia flavoscutellum-group, E. baoshana Li & Geng, sp. n. and E. longchuana Li & Geng, sp. n. are described from China, and photomicrographs are provided to illustrate morphological characters of the new species. A key to all six described species of the E. flavoscutellum-group is given.

Recent population dynamic theory predicts that disruption of biological control may occur when one parasitoid species’ superiority in intrinsic competition is associated with a lower ability to find and exploit hosts (i.e., ability in extrinsic competition). One might expect such a trade-off, for instance, if parasitoids with larger (and fewer) eggs are more likely to prevail in intrinsic compe...

The objective of this study was to evaluate the costs of biologically controlling infestations of silverleaf whitefly, Bemisia argentifolii Bellows & Perring, in New England greenhouse operations on poinsettia, Euphorbia pulcherrima Wild, ex Koltz, using the parasitic wasp Encarsia formosa Gahan (Nile Delta strain). Partial budget analysis was used to compare costs for conventional verses biolo...

A mixed species release of parasitoids is used to suppress outbreaks of tobacco whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae); however, this biocontrol may be inhibited by interspecific interactions. We investigated the effects of mixed releases of natural enemies of B. tabaci on predation rates, parasite performance and adult parasitoid emergence under greenhouse conditions. We tested the ...

Vertically transmitted symbionts of arthropods have been implicated in several reproductive manipulations of their hosts. These include cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), parthenogenesis induction in haplodiploid species (PI), feminization and male killing. One symbiont lineage in the alpha-Proteobacteria, Wolbachia, is the only bacterium known to cause all of these effects, and has been thought...

Between 1990 and 1995, the USDA/APHIS National Biological Control Laboratory in Niles, MI, Texas A&M University, and the University of Massachusetts conducted a biological control introduction program against the Asian diaspidid scale insect Unaspis euonymi (Comstock), a pest of woody landscape plants. Two species of predators ( Chilocorus kuwanae Silvestri, Coleop.: Coccinellidae and Cybocepha...