Environmental Entomology (1986) 15, 1179-1183

D.L. Coudriet, D.E. Meyerdirk, N. Prabhaker and A.N. Kishaba (1986)
Bionomics of sweetpotato whitefly (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) on weed hosts in the Imperial Valley, California
Environmental Entomology 15 (6), 1179-1183
Abstract: Time required for sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius), to complete development of egg to adult at 26.7 ± 2°C varied depending on the host to which it was confined. Development was completed in 5 fewer days on wild lettuce, Lactuca serriola L., and spiny sowthistles, Sonchus aspen (L.) Hill, than on wild sunflowers, Helianthus annuus L. Catches of adults on traps adjacent to wild sunflowers and field bindweed, Convolvulus arvensis L., and of immatures on leaf samples of these plants indicated that B. tabaci was present throughout the year in the cultivated area of the Imperial Valley in California. Thus, movement of adults back into this area is not a prerequisite for annual establishment of the pest. Seasonal trends of the aphelinid parasites., Eretmocerus spp. and Encarsia spp., attacking B. tabaci were monitored on both host plants, but levels of parasitism never exceeded 40%. Therefore, effectiveness of these parasitoids in managing B. tabaci is questionable.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Database assignments for author(s): Dale Meyerdirk, Nilima Prabhaker

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution
environment - cropping system/rotation

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Bemisia tabaci		U.S.A. (SW)