Environmental Entomology (1995) 24, 354-360

Chang-Chi Chu, Thomas J. Henneberry and Allen C. Cohen (1995)
Bemisia argentifolii (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae): Host preference and factors affecting oviposition and feeding site preference
Environmental Entomology 24 (2), 354-360
Abstract: Bemisia argentifolii Bellows and Perring preferred cantaloupe, Cucurnis rnelo var. cantalupensis L., to cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., broccoli, Brassica oleracea var. botrytis L., and lettuce, Lactuca sativa var. capitata L., in 1992 and 1993 in field and greenhouse studies. In the absence of cantaloupe, B. argentifolii preferred cotton to broccoli and lettuce, respectively. More eggs and fewer nymphs were found on broccoli than on cotton in the field. Differences in relative abundance of vascular bundles per unit of leaf area among the four plant species may partly account for differences in oviposition site selection. Vascular bundle volume per unit of leaf tissue volume was 50% greater in cantaloupe than in cotton and broccoli, which in turn had significantly greater volumes than lettuce. Field studies showed that most B. argentifolii on cotton and cantaloupe leaves were found on lower leaf surfaces. Distances from upper and lower leaf surfaces to the nearest vascular bundles in cotton leaves were 131 and 60 µm, respectively. This distribution favors oviposition and feeding on the lower surface of a leaf. Leaf, structure, positive effect of gravity, and negative effect of light affected oviposition site preferences in laboratory studies.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Database assignments for author(s): Chang Chi Chu

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

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Bemisia tabaci biotype MEAM1	Cabbage (Brassica oleracea)	U.S.A. (SW)
	Bemisia tabaci biotype MEAM1	Lettuce (Lactuca)	U.S.A. (SW)
	Bemisia tabaci biotype MEAM1	Cotton (Gossypium)	U.S.A. (SW)
	Bemisia tabaci biotype MEAM1	Melon (Cucumis melo)	U.S.A. (SW)