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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #103167
Title: WHITEFLY EGG PEDICEL MORPHOLOGY AND PENETRATION CHARACTERISTICS

Author
item BUCKNER, JAMES
item FREEMAN, THOMAS - ND UNIV, FARGO, ND
item CHU, CHANG CHI
item NELSON, DENNIS
item HENNEBERRY, THOMAS

Submitted to: Sweetpotato Whitefly Progress Review Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/1/1999
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Whitefly eggs are generally elongate-oval and the basal end has a pedicel or stalk of varying length by which the female attaches the egg to a plant leaf. B. argentifolii females insert the pedicel into a slit made in the leaf by the ovipositor and secrete a glue-like substance around the pedicel. In addition to anchoring the egg to the leaf surface, the indicated function of the pedicel is to serve as a conduit for absorbing water to protect the egg from dehydration. Using established methods for leaf tissue fixation, embedment, sectioning and staining, the penetration characteristics of B. argentifolii eggs inserted into cotton leaves were observed by both light and transmission electron microscopy. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to observe and characterize oviposited eggs removed from cotton leaves and artificial membranes. The morphology of the pedicel of eggs removed from leaves and membranes was compared to the pedicel of eggs removed from the ovaries of gravid B. argentifolii females. For cotton leaves, the pedicels B. argentifolii eggs were most often inserted into abaxial epidermal cells. We observed that the distal end of most pedicels was curved within the plant epidermal cells. A glue- like substance was observed to envelop the base of the pedicel, but not the tip region. This glue-like collar was also observed on the pedicel of eggs removed from artificial membranes. These findings imply that the female secretes the glue-like substance at the time of egg insertion.