Skip to main content
ARS Home » Southeast Area » Charleston, South Carolina » Vegetable Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #430476
Research Project: Basic and Applied Approaches for Pest Management in Vegetable Crops

Location: Vegetable Research

Title: Life-stage specific predatory efficiency of two generalist predators of Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae)

Author
item AIGBEDION-ATALOR, ITOHAN - University Of Georgia
item AZRAG, ABDELMUTALAB - International Centre Of Insect Physiology And Ecology
item Simmons, Alvin
item SCHMIDT, JASON - University Of Georgia

Submitted to: BioControl
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/15/2026
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: The sweetpotato whitefly is a major pest of vegetable crops on a global scale. Including the benefits from natural enemies in pest management strategies offers a more sustainable approach to pest management than by only relying on insecticides. A study was conducted that assessed the feeding capacity of the immature stages of two types of predators (convergent lady beetle and bigeyed bug) on whiteflies. Predation rate did not differ when the predators were on either of two types of vegetable plants (summer squash and green bean), but feeding increased with size of the immature predators, and with number of the whitefly prey. These findings indicate the importance of prey efficiency by the immature stages of predators in contributing to understanding their role for the development of more effective IPM strategies for vegetable systems by agricultural practitioners.

Technical Abstract: Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) is an economically damaging invasive pest to global vegetable production systems. Current management strategies rely heavily on insecticides, but increasing levels of insecticide resistance raise sustainability concerns. Therefore, strengthening integrated pest management (IPM) programs requires enhancing biological control through improved predator-pest interactions. Despite the well-established relevance of predator functional response modulation by multiple environmental factors, limited research has explored how host plant traits and prey life stage interact to influence the efficiency of generalist predators in vegetable systems. To address this gap, we evaluated the functional responses of two adult generalist predators, Hippodamia convergens (Guérin-Méneville) and Geocoris punctipes (Say), against three nymphal instars of B. tabaci (second, third, and fourth) on two vegetable crops: yellow summer squash (Cucurbita pepo) and green bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) at six prey densities (5, 15, 25, 50, 75, 100) under laboratory conditions for 24 h. Results showed that both predators successfully preyed on all nymphal stages. Overall, predation did not differ significantly between host plants but varied among nymph stages and increased with prey density. Both predators exhibited a Type III response to second instars, but a Type II response to third and fourth instars. Attack rate increased with nymph stage, with H. convergens showing the highest attack rate on the fourth instars. Our findings indicate the importance of prey life stage in determining predators' efficiency and highlight the potential of H. convergens and G. punctipes as promising biological control agents of B. tabaci, contributing to the development of more effective IPM strategies for vegetable systems.