A Laboratory method for estimating survival of tobacco whitefly nymphs after insecticide treatment,based on honeydew excretion

A quick and easy method for estimating the number of surviving nymphs of the tobacco whitefly (TWF),Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae), after spray applications was developed in the laboratory. The method is based on the number of honeydew droplets ejected by TWF immatures during 30 minutes. Since the nymphs ofB. tabaci feed on the lower leaf surfaces, the honeydew excreted falls downward. In this study infested cotton leaves were placed with their lower side up, forcing the nymphs to eject the honeydew droplet upwards. Inverted plastic petri dish covers were placed over infested cotton leaves and after 30 minutes the droplets deposited on the inner side of each cover were counted and the average number of droplets per nymph was calculated. To estimate the number of live nymphs on an infested cotton leaf, the number of droplets ejected during 30 minutes was divided by the average number of droplets per nymph (factor of 1.23).