Host leaf age preference of adult Bemisia tabaci (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) and its relationship with offspring performance
烟粉虱成虫对黄瓜叶龄的喜好性及与后代发育适合度间的关系

Preference of Bemisia tabaci adults for cucumber leaf age and its relationship with offspring performance in terms of duration and survivorship were investigated in this experiment, and preference of whitefly adults was correlated to trichome density on leaves of different ages. Results show that (1) adult whiteflies preferred leaves in the middle stratum of cucumber plants for feeding and oviposition. (2) Leaf age had no significant effect on duration and survival of B. tabaci immatures, except durations of eggs and 4th instar nymphs. (3) Trichome density decreased significantly with increasing leaf age; and at the initial stage of exposure, B. tabaci adults preferred less-pubescent old leaves, but after 72 h, numbers of deposited eggs and adults were significantly higher on leaves with medium trichome density than those on leaves with high and low trichome density. Implications of the above results are discussed in relation with cucumber variety breeding for resistance to and improving control efficiency of B. tabaci.