A geographic distribution database of the Neotropical cassava whitefly complex (Hemiptera, Aleyrodidae) and their associated parasitoids and hyperparasitoids (Hymenoptera)

Abstract

Whiteflies (Hemiptera, Aleyrodidae) are represented by more than 1,500 herbivorous species around the world. Some of them are notorious pests of cassava (Manihot esculenta), a primary food crop in the tropics. Particularly destructive is a complex of Neotropical cassava whiteflies whose distribution remains restricted to their native range. Despite their importance, neither their distribution, nor that of their associated parasitoids, is well documented. This paper therefore reports observational and specimen-based occurrence records of Neotropical cassava whiteflies and their associated parasitoids and hyperparasitoids. The dataset consists of 1,311 distribution records documented by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) between 1975 and 2012. The specimens are held at CIAT’s Arthropod Reference Collection (CIATARC, Cali, Colombia). Eleven species of whiteflies, 14 species of parasitoids and one species of hyperparasitoids are reported. Approximately 66% of the whitefly records belong to Aleurotrachelus socialis and 16% to Bemisia tuberculata. The parasitoids with most records are Encarsia hispida, Amitus macgowni and Encarsia bellottii for Aleurotrachelus socialis; and Encarsia sophia for Bemisia tuberculata. The complete dataset is available in Darwin Core Archive format via the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF).

Prevalence and Diversity of Endosymbionts in Cassava Whiteflies (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) From Colombia

“…Both morphological and molecular results for the identification of whitefly species were congruent, confirming the presence of T. variabilis , A. socialis , and B. tuberculata in Colombian cassava crops. According to Gold et al (1990), Carabalí et al (2008, 2010), Vásquez-Ordóñez et al (2015), cassava crops in Colombia are mostly colonized by these three species of whitefly, being A. socialis the predominant species with percentages of prevalence reported ranging from 66 to 88%. However, T. variabilis was the dominant species in our study.…”

“…Of the 1,556 species of whitefly described (Forero 2008), only 15 are associated with cassava cultivation (Vásquez-Ordóñez et al 2015), and only Bemisia and Trialeurodes genera are vectors of disease-causing viruses (Bellotti and Arias 2001, Navas-Castillo et al 2011). In Africa, e.g., Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) transmits the viruses causing cassava brown streak disease (CBSD) and cassava mosaic disease (CMD), the latter also transmitted by this species in Southern Asia.…”

“…In Latin America, cassava is mainly colonized by whitefly species that cause losses as a consequence of direct feeding on the phloem (Carabalí et al 2005). Specifically, two species of whitefly, Aleurotrachelus socialis (Bondar) and Trialeurodes variabilis (Quaintance), can cause losses of up to 79% in crop yield depending on the period of infestation and the variety cultivated in the north of South America (Bellotti and Arias 2001, Carabalí et al 2010, Vásquez-Ordóñez et al 2015). However, there are no reports of virus transmission in cassava by B. tabaci .…”

Assessing whitefly diversity to infer about begomovirus dynamics in cassava in Brazil

“…Whiteflies (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) are one of the major constraints to its production in developing countries (10). Whiteflies comprise a diverse group of phloem-feeding insects, with more than 1,500 species assigned to 126 genera of which over 20 species have been reported to colonize cassava worldwide (11). In addition to the direct damage due feeding in the plant phloem, whiteflies cause indirect damage by deposition of honeydew, favoring the growth of sooty mold fungi on the leaf surface, and mainly by transmission of a broad range of viruses (12).…”

Método de cría de Bemisia tuberculata (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) para estudios en yuca

“…Cassava is affected by the occurrence of the whitefly complex. Recently, 12 species were reported to be associated with this culture, among which stand out Aleurotrachelus socialis Bondar, 1923 andBemisia tuberculata Bondar, 1923 (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) in the Neotropical region, especially the latter species in Brazil (Pietrowski et al 2014;Vásquez-Ordóñez et al 2015).…”