Environmental Entomology (1999) 28, 282-289

Andrea L. Joyce, Thomas S. Bellows and David H. Headrick (1999)
Reproductive biology and search behavior of Amitus bennetti (Hymenoptera : Platygasteridae), a parasitoid of Bemisia argentifolii (Homoptera : Aleyrodidae)
Environmental Entomology 28 (2), 282-289
Abstract: Amitus bennetti Viggiani and Evans is a recently discovered parasitoid of whiteflies in the genus Bemisia, including the serious pests Bemisa tabaci (Gennadius) and Bemisia argentifolii Bellows and Perring. The reproductive biology and the host searching behavior of A. bennetti was studied in the laboratory, using B. argentifolii as a host. The developmental time for A. bennetti from egg to adult at 27°C was 21.4 ± 0.2 d (range, 18-31 d). The primary behavioral pathway when searching for hosts was searching, grooming, host encounter, host antennation, followed by probing a host. Searching occupied 44.9% of the adults' time budget, whereas grooming represented 27.1%. There was a significantly greater preference to antennate and probe 1st and 2nd instars than older instars. Average longevity of A. bennetti adults exposed to hosts was 6.3 ± 0.9 d (range, 3-11 d). Oviposition occurred on days 0-6 of adult life, but was concentrated in days 0-3. The average number of progeny produced in the daily fertility study was 78.8 ± 8.1 (range, 47-122) female offspring per female; no males were produced in any experiment or colony. Life tables were constructed assuming a preimaginal survival of 100%, and yielded a net reproductive rate (R_o) of 73.1, a cohort generation time (T_c) of 21.7 d, and an intrinsic rate of increase (r_m) of 0.199, the highest ever recorded for a parasitoid of Bemisia spp. This parasitoid may be a suitable candidate for use in inundative release programs targeting Bemisia spp. whiteflies.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Database assignments for author(s): Andrea L. Joyce

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
general biology - morphology - evolution
population dynamics/epizootiology

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Bemisia tabaci biotype MEAM1
Amitus bennetti (parasitoid)	Bemisia tabaci biotype MEAM1