First report of Bemisia tabaci Mediterranean (biotype Q)(Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) in the Dominican Republic

Authors: COLMAR, SERRA - Dominican Institute For Agricultural And Forestry Research; McKenzie, Cindy; LUO, WEIQI - North Carolina State University; OSBORNE, LANCE - University Of Florida

Submitted to: Florida Entomologist
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/12/2019
Publication Date: 1/31/2020
Citation: Colmar, S., McKenzie, C.L., Luo, W., Osborne, L. 2020. First report of Bemisia tabaci Mediterranean (biotype Q)(Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) in the Dominican Republic. Florida Entomologist. 102(4):778-782. https://doi.org/10.1653/024.102.0417.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1653/024.102.0417

Interpretive Summary: Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius), is a large cryptic species complex of whitefly whose members are some of the most devastating pest insects of agriculture and horticulture in the world. The first reports of Bemisia tabaci in the Dominican Republic (DR) date back to 1975 when the New World (NW) member of the complex caused severe damage in beans in the Southwestern provinces of San Juan and Barahona, primarily due to transmission of bean golden mosaic virus. Middle Eastern Asia Minor 1 (MEAM1) has since became the predominant cryptic species of Bemisia tabaci in the DR, but reports of control failures prompted a whitefly survey in 2018 to determine the distribution and composition of Bemisia tabaci cryptic species populations. Mediterranean (MED) was detected for the first time in the Dominican Republic from two different Provinces (Santo Domingo and Santiago) and host plants (tomato and tobacco) and environments (greenhouse and open field). MEAM1 was the predominate Bemisia tabaci cryptic species present and was detected in all but one sample which was 100% MED. New World was detected twice on eggplant in different geographical regions and once on Mexican prickly poppy in a native habitat, but always with MEAM1. Widespread difficulties managing whitefly populations efficiently make additional confirmatory cryptic species detections necessary to determine the extent of the MED invasion in the country, especially where control failures have been reported.

Technical Abstract: Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) is a large cryptic species complex of whitefly whose members are particularly invasive pests of hundreds of economically important commodities worldwide including cotton, vegetables and ornamental crops. When widespread control failures and resistance to insecticides were reported, a whitefly survey was conducted in 2018 to determine the distribution and composition of Bemisia tabaci cryptic species populations in the Dominican Republic (DR). Bemisia tabaci cryptic species detected in the Dominican Republic were Middle Eastern Asia Minor 1 (MEAM1 or biotype B), Mediterranean (MED or biotype Q) and New World (NW or biotype A). Sixteen samples were collected from 11 crops across 11 Provinces in the Dominican Republic Provinces included Azua, Distrito Nacional (2), Espaillat, Independencia, La Vega, Monseñor Nouel, San Juan (2), Santiago (2), Santo Domingo, Samaná, and Peravia (3). Overall, squash was the most heavily sampled commodity (4) followed by two samples each of eggplant, and Asian spiderflower. Other host plants sampled included mint, tomato, bean, tobacco, sesame, spurge, turkey berry, and Mexican prickly poppy. MED was detected for the first time in the Dominican Republic from two different Provinces (Santo Domingo and Santiago) and host plants (tomato and tobacco) and environments (greenhouse and open field). All MED sequences were identical and determined to be of Eastern Mediterranean origin. MEAM1 was the predominate Bemisia tabaci cryptic species present and was detected in all but one sample which was 100% MED. New World (NW) was detected twice on eggplant in different geographical regions and once on Mexican prickly poppy in a native habitat, but always with MEAM1. Widespread difficulties managing whitefly populations efficiently make additional confirmatory cryptic species detections necessary to determine the extent of the MED invasion in the country, especially where control failures have been reported.