Multi-generation life tables of Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) biotype B (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) under high-temperature...

Much attention has been focused on insects' ability to survive long-term high-temperature stress and on their resulting population distributions under global warming. In this study, life tables of the whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) biotype B, were collected over five consecutive generations at 27, 31, and 35°C and for one generation at 37°C. At 37°C, the intrinsic rate of increase (r) and the net reproductive rate (r(0)) of the whitefly were 0.0383 d(-1) and 2.8 offspring, respectively. These results demonstrate that the lethal high temperature for B. tabaci is >37°C. At 27°C, neither r(0) nor r decreased over the generations studied. However, both of these values decreased over time at 31 and 35°C, and the decrease was more evident at 35°C. Our results on the ability of B. tabaci biotype B to survive long-term high-temperature stress are important for understanding its population distribution under global warming.