DEVELOPMENT OF A SILVERLEAF WHITEFLY (HOMOPTERA: ALEYRODIDAE) TRAP

Authors: Chu, Chang Chi; Henneberry, Thomas

Submitted to: Research Signpost: Recent Development in Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/1/1999
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Yellow sticky card traps are widely used for monitoring the amount of whitefly adults and their activities during the crop seasons year round. They are easy to use and relatively inexpensive, cost at 23 cents apiece for the size of 5 by 5 inches. However, yellow sticky card trap is messy to handle, easily saturated at the whitefly peak season, inefficient when coated with dust or other insects, not reusable unless the yellow cards ar washed and re-coated with glues, requiring immediate count of the trapped insects if counted with naked eyes, and the trapped whitefly adults may not be used for other scientific purposes. We have inverted a whitefly trap (CC trap) that is also easy to use and inexpensive to make, about 70 cents apiece. The trap consists of a clear plastic top, a yellow colored trap base, and a deflector plate to prevent the escape of the trapped adults. The trap was designed according to the whitefly adult behavior: attracted to yellow color, walked to shaded underside of leaves for rest, feeding an laying eggs and fly to light when taking off from a host plant. It can hold 46,000 adults, therefore can be placed inside or outside of a field for a long time. It is reusable, washable, not sticky and without the use of any bait. The numbers of whitefly adults caught with the CC trap were highly correlated with the numbers caught with the yellow sticky card traps or the number counted on cotton leaves in several field studies.

Technical Abstract: We present here a review of the development of a non-sticky, reusable silverleaf whitefly, Bemisia argentifolii Bellows and Perring, trap (CC trap) for research and adult monitoring and survey. The design of the trap was based on whitefly adult attraction to yellow color, movement of adults for feeding and oviposition to shaded underleaf surfaces, and orientation to light when leaving host leaves. The trap consists of a clear plastic top, a yellow colored cylinder trap base with an open-ended container attenuated cone, and a deflector plate to reduce the escape of the trapped adults. Numbers of Bemisia argentifolii adults caught in CC traps in cabbage and cotton in the field were significantly correlated to the numbers caught on yellow sticky cards traps or numbers counted on cotton leaves using a leaf-turn method of estimating population densities. The CC trap is most efficient in cotton when placed 30 cm below the plant canopy top. The CC trap is selective for adult whiteflies and catches very few Eretmocerus whitefly nymphal parasites compared with yellow sticky card traps. The results suggest a potential complementary use of CC traps in conjunction with parasite releases for control of whitefly nymphs in greenhouses. Advantages of the CC trap compared to the yellow sticky card trap are reusability, can be exposed for long periods of time, easier to handle and whiteflies are more easily and quickly counted. Also, specimens are not distorted and can easily be used for further taxonomic studies.