Whiteflies undergo three nymphal molts and a fourth metamorphic molt to the adult. Just prior to, or at the initiation of the adult molt, ecdysteroid titers peak at approximately 120 and 400 fg/ug protein in greenhouse (Trialeurodes vaporariorum) and silverleaf (Bemisia argentifolii) whiteflies, respectively. These values are between 10 and 1000 times lower than those reported for other insect species. Reverse phase and normal phase HPLC coupled with an enzyme immunoassay were used to isolate and identify the predominant edysteroids present in the nymphal-adult premolt ecdysteroid peak. Results indicated that 20-hydroxyecdysone is the whitefly molting hormone.
Species 1: Homoptera Aleyrodidae Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Greenhouse Whitefly)
Species 2: Homoptera Aleyrodidae Bemisia argentifolii (Silverleaf Whitefly)
Keywords: ecdysteroid, molting and metamorphosis
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