Xuhong Cui, Fanghao Wan, Ming Xie, Tongxian Liu
Journal of Insect Science 8 (24), 1-10, (1 March 2008) https://doi.org/10.1673/031.008.2401
KEYWORDS: sweetpotato whitefly, silverleaf whitefly, greenhouse whitefly, egg hatch, sex ratio
The effects of heat shock on survival and reproduction of two whitefly species, Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westwood) and Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) biotype B (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae), were compared in the laboratory. Whitefly adults were exposed to 26 (control), 37, 39, 41, 43 and 45°C for 1 hour, and were then maintained at 26°C. Adult survival was significantly affected when they were exposed at 41°C or higher for B. tabaci or 39°C or higher for T. vaporariorum. All males of T. vaporariorum were killed at 45°C. In both whitefly species, females were more tolerant to high temperatures at 39°C or higher than males. Female fecundity was not significantly different when B. tabaci adults were heat-shocked at all temperatures. In contrast, the fecundity of T. vaporariorum females declined with the increase of temperature, and only a few eggs were oviposited at 43°C. Survival or hatch rates of the F1 nymphs of both whitefly species declined as heat-shock temperature increased, and no T. vaporariorum nymphs were hatched at 43°C. Similarly, percentages of F1 offspring developing to adults for both whitefly species also declined as the heat-shock temperature increased. Sex ratios of the F1 offspring were not significantly affected for T. vaporariorum but were slightly affected for B. tabaci at 43 and 45°C. The significance of heat shock in relation to dispersal, distribution and population dynamics of the two whitefly species is discussed.