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Behaviors Of Female Eretmocerus Sp. Nr. Californicus (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) Attacking Bemisia Argentifolii (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) On Sweet Potato, David H. Headrick, Thomas S. Bellows, Jr., Thomas M. Perring
Behaviors Of Female Eretmocerus Sp. Nr. Californicus (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) Attacking Bemisia Argentifolii (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) On Sweet Potato, David H. Headrick, Thomas S. Bellows, Jr., Thomas M. Perring
Horticulture and Crop Science
Behaviors of Eretmocerus sp. nr. californicus Howard females on Bemisia argentifolii Bellows & Perring infesting sweet potato, Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lain, were described and quantified. Walking speeds of up to 1.3 mm/s were calculated for females searching for host whitefly nymphs on sweet potato leaves. Females encountered all host stages during searching with approximately the same relative frequency as their relative abundance (average of 17.03% of hosts available were encountered). Females also arrested and antennated all of the host stages with the same relative frequency as their encounter rate (62.8%). Females showed a clear and significant preference for probing second …