Abstract
Individual B. tabaci adults acquired cowpea mild mottle virus (CMMV) in 10 min and transmitted it within 5 min to soybeans. Starvation before acquisition had no effect upon transmission, but starvation after acquisition decreased transmission frequency. Irrespective of the length of acquisition, ability to transmit CMMV was retained in the whitefly for only 4 successive inoculation access periods of 5 min each, but adults that lost the ability to transmit the virus could reacquire and transmit the virus. CMMV was not detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in adults that had been given acquisition access periods of 1-8 hr.