Many insects harbor inherited bacterial endosymbionts. Although some of them are not strictly essential and are considered facultative, they can be a key to host survival under specific environmental conditions, such as parasitoid attacks, climate changes, or insecticide pressures. The whitefly Bemisia tabaci is at the top of the list of organisms inflicting agricultural damage and outbreaks, a...

Parasitoids of the Encarsia genus (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) are important biological control agents against whiteflies. Some of the species in this genus not only parasitize their hosts, but also kill them through host feeding. The whitefly parasitoid, Encarsia formosa Gahan, was examined to determine whether the rearing host species affects its subsequent host-feeding capacity and parasitism....

Studies were conducted on the incidence, intensity of infestation, infestation grade index and natural enemy complex rugose spiralling whitefly (RSW) Aleurodicus rugioperculatus Martin infesting coconut palms so as to evolve ecofriendly IPM. RSW incidence was at peak in June 2018 (38.3%), subsequently declined December (20.5%), but later attained again March 2019 (47.5%). The pest also showed i...

Abstract Whiteflies (Aleyrodidae) cause high economic losses in agricultural systems worldwide. Heavy reliance on insecticide use for whitefly control has led to the resistance development towards nearly all used groups of insecticides. A more sustainable, widely used, and irreplaceable measure protected cropping is biological by augmentative release parasitoids. All commercially available para...

Life-history parameters of the greenhouse whitefly Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westwood), an important pest of bean crops in Colombia, were determined in environmental control chambers on two dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) cultivars (cv.). Trialeurodes vaporariorum longevity on cv. Chocho decreased as temperature increased from 22.6 d at 19 degrees C to 5.9 d at 26 degrees C. Fecundity was signif...

The beneficial effects of direct predation by zoophytophagous biological control agents (BCAs), such as the mirid bug Nesidiocoris tenuis, are well-known. However, the benefits of zoophytophagous BCAs' relation with host plants, via induction of plant defensive responses, have not been investigated until recently. To date, only the females of certain zoophytophagous BCAs have been demonstrated ...

Abstract The whitefly Singhiella simplex (Singh) is an invasive species that has been causing damage to Ficus hedges and trees for the last decade a half in Africa, Caribbean, Europe, Middle East, North South America. This study provides its biology, current pest status, description, dispersal potential, field key, geographical distribution, host plants, scouting techniques, assemblage, survey ...