Chemoecology (2003) 13, 163-168

Victoria Soroker, Dennis R. Nelson, Ornit Bahar, Saadia Reneh, Sarah Yablonski and Eric Palevsky (2003)
Whitefly wax as a cue for phoresy in the broad mite, Polyphagotarsonemus latus (Acari: Tarsonemidae)
Chemoecology 13 (4), 163-168
Abstract: Broad mite, Polyphagotarsonemus latus (Acari: Tarsonemidae) exhibits a specific phoretic relationship with whiteflies. Under field conditions most broad mites, caught in sticky traps, are attached to whiteflies. Under laboratory conditions, attachment occurs equally well in the dark and light. Mites do not differentiate between the sexes of their phoretic host Bemisia tabaci. However, mite attachment to B. tabaci is greatly diminished by washing the host with various organic solvents, chloroform in particular. The effect of whitefly waxy particles on broad mite behavior was studied using wax from the whitefly Aleyrodes singularis and from the mealybug Planococcus citri. Broad mites were not only attracted specifically to the A. singularis waxy particles-treated leaf areas but were also attached to leaf trichomes in this area. The results of this study suggests the importance of olfactory cues from the whitefly waxy particles in the recognition process of the phoretic host and/or the induction of the attachment behavior to whitefly legs or leaf trichomes.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Victoria Soroker, Eric Palevsky

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution
population dynamics/ epidemiology

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Polyphagotarsonemus latus