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Activity of natural toxins against the silverleaf whitefly, Bemisia argentifolii , using a novel feeding bioassay system
Author(s) -
Davidson Elizabeth W.,
Patron Rufino B. R.,
Lacey Lawrence A.,
Frutos Roger,
Vey Alain,
Hendrix Donald L.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
entomologia experimentalis et applicata
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.765
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1570-7458
pISSN - 0013-8703
DOI - 10.1111/j.1570-7458.1996.tb00805.x
Subject(s) - biology , bioassay , whitefly , botany , horticulture , homoptera , pest analysis , toxicology , genetics
An assay system was developed for the adult silverleaf whitefly, Bemisia argentifolii Bellows & Perring (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae). This practical device was constructed from standard disposable laboratory materials. Whiteflies were harvested directly from the leaf and into a collection vial by vacuum aspiration, minimizing physical damage to the insect. Insects were fed through a cellulose mixed‐ester membrane on a diet of 20–27% sucrose alone or sucrose in an extract of zucchini ( Curcurbita moschata Duchense). Mortality and honeydew production were scored. At 22–25 °C and 50–55% relative humidity, control mortality generally remained at or below 15% during a 48 h assay period. The bioassay system was first tested using the insecticide, Imidacloprid, then used to screen a number of natural products with potential insecticidal activity against the whitefly. Destruxins extracted from the entomopathogenic fungus, Metarhizium anisopliae , and the natural insecticide/nematicide, Ivermectin, as well as bee venom and two of its components, melittin and phospholipase A 2 , were found to be toxic to B. argentifolii. Five lectins, Bacillus thuringiensis toxins, gossypol, an extract of Paeciliomyces fumosoroseus , wasp and scorpion venom, and a trypsin inhibitor were not found to be insecticidal to adult B. argentifolii.