Bemisia tabaci (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) on Cotton: Adult Activity and Cultivar Oviposition Preference

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Abstract
The sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius), was studied under greenhouse conditions to determine times of adult ecdysis and precopulatory pairing behavior and to observe its selection of host plants. In March, ecdysis of adults in a greenhouse began at 0800 hours and reached a peak at from 1000 to 1200 hours on one day and from 0800 to 1000 hours the next day. Ecdysis continued through the afternoon. Precopulatory pairing began at 0830 hours and by 0855 hours, 50% of the whiteflies were in pairs. Outside the greenhouse, pairing reached 50% at 0930 hours. Temperatures rose rapidly during this period but pairing was not closely correlated with temperature. Two okra-leaf selections (‘Auburn Okra 149’ and ‘Auburn Okra 201’) had significantly more B. tabaei adults than their normal-leaf counterparts, while one normal-leaf (‘Stoneville-7A’) had more adults than its okra-leaf counterpart. Three other pairs of okra-leaf and normal-leaf isolines had similar populations. ‘Stoneville-825, normal, hairy-leaf plants had more adults and eggs than either the semismooth or smooth-leaf isolines. The unshaved half of ‘Stoneville-825’ leaves had 2.4- fold more adults and 4-fold more eggs than the half of the leaf shaved with an electric razor.