BACKGROUND The whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, a notorious agricultural pest, has complex relationships with diverse microbes. The interactions of the whitefly with entomopathogens as well as its endosymbionts have received great attention, because of their potential importance in developing novel whitefly control technologies. To this end, a comprehensive understanding on the whitefly defense system...

A mitochondrial manganese superoxide dismutase from an invasive species of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci complex (Bt-mMnSOD) was cloned and analyzed. The full length cDNA of Bt-mMnSOD is 1210 bp with a 675 bp open reading frame, corresponding to 224 amino acids, which include 25 residues of the mitochondrial targeting sequence. Compared with various vertebrate and invertebrate animals, the MnSOD ...

The whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) is a major cosmopolitan pest capable of feeding on hundreds of plant species and transmits several major plant viruses. The most important and widespread viruses vectored by B. tabaci are in the genus Begomovirus, an unusual group of plant viruses owing to their small, single-stranded DNA genome and geminate particle morphology. B. tabaci transmits begomo...

In order to identify the whitefly molting hormone, whole body extracts of mature 4th instar and newly formed pharate adult Bemisia tabaci (Biotype B) and Trialeurodes vaporariorum were prepared and subjected to reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography (RPHPLC). Ecdysteroid content of fractions was determined by enzymeimmunoassay (EIA). The only detectable ecdysteroids that were pres...

Interference competition between closely related alien and indigenous species often influences the outcome of biological invasions. The whitefly Bemisia tabaci species complex contains ≥28 putative species and two of them, Mediterranean (MED, formally referred to as the 'Q biotype') and Middle East-Asia Minor 1 (MEAM1, formally referred to as the 'B biotype'), have recently spread to much of th...

The whiteflies Bemisia tabaci Gennadius and Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westwood) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) are two of the main pests in tomato crops. Their biological control in Mediterranean IPM systems is based on the predators Macrolophus pygmaeus (Rambur) and Nesidiocoris tenuis Reuter (Hemiptera: Miridae), as well as on the parasitoids Eretmocerus mundus (Mercet) and Encarsia pergandiella H...

In North America, the sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci Genn., is an important pest of greenhouse poinsettia. Growers have limited options to control this pest during propagation of cuttings, which are rooted under mist for several weeks. Early establishment of this pest increases the difficulty of managing the whitefly and retaining high aesthetic standard during the remaining crop producti...

The sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci Genn., has been present in Arizona since the first cultivation of cotton in the 1920s (Russell 1975). For much of its history, its importance was as a sporadic pest and vector of cotton leaf crumple virus. Meanwhile around the world, outbreaks of whiteflies were recorded in cotton in places like the Sudan, Punjab of India, and Israel. The New World also ...

The abundance and distribution of insect herbivores is determined by, among other things, plant quality and natural enemies. These two factors vary temporally and spatially, subsequently affecting seasonal population dynamics. The relative influence of plant quality and natural enemies on the seasonal dynamics of Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) was investigated in a 3-yr field study in cotton. Plant...

The whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, B biotype (syn. B. arentifolii Bellows and Perring) (Homoptera:Aleyrodiae), is a major problem in agroecosystems throughout ropical and subtropical regions of the world. Large opulations of whiteflies reduce crop yields, cause conamination of plant parts with excreted honeydew, and ct as vectors of Begomoviruses and other plant viuses that cause serious economic lo...