ECOLOGICAL STUDIES ON THE IMMAllJRE STAGES OF THE
WHITEFLY REM/S/A TABAC/ ON CASSAVA
Fishpool, L.D.C., Burban, C. & Abisgoid, J.D.o
Institut Francais de Recherche Scientifique pour le Développement en Coopération (ORSTOM),
Laboratoire de Phytovirologie, BP V5l, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.
°Overseas Development Natural Resources Institute, Central Avenue, Chatham Maritime,
Chatham, Kent ME4 4TB, UK.
Résumé
La mouche blanche Bemisia tabaci (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) est le seul insecte connu
vecteur de la mosaïque africaine du manioc. Des essais aux champs sont en cours en basse Côte
d'Ivoire pour étudier l'écologie des populations aux stades immatures sur le manioc. Des données
préliminaires sur la vitesse de développement et le taux de mortalité de chaque stade, la distribution
à l'interieur de la plante et l'évolution des populations dans le temps, sont présentées ici. Les
mensurations morphomètriques ont révelé qu'on peut distinguer entre les sexes au dernier stade
larvaire.
Introduction
The whitefly Bemisia tabaci Genn. (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) is the only known insect
vector of African Cassava Mosaic Virus. This disease and the rôle played in its epidemiology by
B. tabaci have been the subject of a series of studies in southem Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa (e. g.
Fargette et al 1985, Fauquet et al 1988). Hitherto work on the vector has concentrated largely on
the adult (Fargette 1985, Fishpool et al 1988): prelirninary fmdings frum a continuing field study of
the population ecology of the immature stages are presented below.
The work is being carried out on an experimental farm at Adiopodoumé (05°19'N
04°08'W), 20km W of Abidjan in the forest zone of Côte d'Ivoire. The Kenyan cassava variety
Kasimbidgi Green has been used, which is largely resistant to the disease, and is grown in plots of
1ha. Studies have concentrated on the first 4-5 months in the life of a cassava crop as it has been
shown that infection with the disease after this period results in little yield loss (Fargette et al.,
1988).
Developmental Times
Direct observations in the field,at average mean temperatures of 26-28°C and average
minimum relative humidities 63-65%, have shown that mean developmental times of the immature
stages are as follows:
Immature stage Mean duration in days
Egg 6.1
1 instar 3.5
II instar 2.3
III instar 2.7
IV instar 3.5
'Pupa' 2.7
Total 20.8 (Range 18-23, n=46)
Population Curves
Population curves of nymphs within a cassava crop over the first five months after
planting are shown in Figs. 1 & 2. It can be seen that once the crop has been colonised there is a
rapid build up in numbers to a maximum at 7-10 weeks, whence there is a marked decline. Similar
shaped population curves are seen for adult numbers in cassava of the same age (Fishpool et al
1988 and unpublished observations). While with a developmental time of about three weeks from
egg to adult sorne four to five generations are possible during this period, the degree of overlap
between generations is such that it is not possible to distinguish them.
Distribution within plant
Adult B. tabaci feeà and oviposit preferentially on the youngest open five to seven
267a
leaves of a cassava shoot (Fargette 1985). This, coupled with the rapid growth of cassava during
this period (one leaf per 1,2 days) and the fact that B. tabaci nymphs are sessile, results in a
stratification by age of instars down the cassava plant, as can be seen in Fig. 3. This has
implications when devising sampling programmes for nymphs (Abisgold & Fishpool in prep.) and
explains the choice of leaves sampled in Fig. 2.
Mortaiity
Preliminary estimates of mortalities of immature stages in the field have been obtained:
Developmental Stage Mortality
Egg negligible
1 instar 35-50%
II instar 5-15%
III instar 5-15%
IV instar + 'Pupa' 30-40%
Survivorship to adult 2-10%
The main causes of mortality seem to be the failure of 1 instar nymphs to establish
themselves after eclosion and death through parasitism and predation of the IV instar. The main
predators recorded are mites of the genus Euseius (Acari: Phytoseiidae), while tne parasitic wasp
Encarsia transvena (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) is responsible for mortalities ranging from 10 to
60% of the IV instar and 'pupa' (Limberg & van Lingen 1988, and unpublished observations).
Morphometrïcs of IV instar nymphs
Morphometric measurement of the sizes of IV instar nymphs and 'pupae' revealed them
to be bimodally distributed. The smaller sizc class, (length 0,55-0,63mm, width 0,35-0,43mm),
gave rise uniquely to male adults while the larger c1ass, (length 0,67-0,76rnrn, width O,44-0,5mm)
produced on1y females imagines. This is being used to investigate possible variations in the sex
ratio of the population with time; B. tabaci is able to reproduce parthenogenetically with unfertilised
eggs deveoping into males (Mound 1983).
Studies into the population ecology of immature B. tabaci continue and the results will
he integrated with those from concurrent monitoring of adult populations in cassava, investigations
of associated flight behaviour, and disease epidemiology.
References
Abisgold, J.D. & Fishpool, L.D.C. ln Prep. A method for estimating the population
sizes of whitefly nymphs (Bemisia tabaci Genn.) on cassava.
Fargette, D. (1985). Epidémiolo~ie de la mosaïque africaine du manioc en
CÔte d'Ivoire. Ph.D. thesis. Faculté des Sciences de Montpellier, 21Opp.
Fargette, D., Fauquet, C. & Thouvenel, J.-c. (1985) Field studies on the
spread of African cassava mosaic. Annals of Applied Biolo~ 106: 285-294.
Fargette, D., Fauquet, C. & Thouvenel, J.-C. (1988) Yield losses induced by African cassava
mosaic virus in relation to the mode and date of infection. Tropical Pest Mana~ement
34(1): 89-91.
Fauquet, c., Fargette, D. & Thouvenel, J.-c. (1988) Sorne aspects of the e:pidemiology of
African cassava mosaic in Ivory Coast. Tropical Pest Mana~ement 340): 92-96.
Fishpool, L.D.C., van Helden, M., van Raider, L, Fauquet, C. & Fargette, D. (1988)
Monitoring Bemisia tabaci populations in cassava: field counts and trap catches. In:
Fauquet, C. & Fargette, D. (eds) The International Seminar on African Cassava Mosaic
Disease and its Control. Yamoussoukro. CÔte d'Ivoire, 4-8 May 1987, CTA
Wageningen, The Netherlands, pp. 64-76.
Mound, L.A. (1983) Biology and identity of whitefly vectors of plant pathogens. In: Plumb,
R.T. & Thresh, J.M. (eds.) Plant Virus Epidemiolo~y. The Spread and Control of
Insect-bome Viruses. Blackwell, Oxford, U.K., pp. 305-313.
Limberg, G. & van Lingen, T. (1988) Natural enemies of Bemisia tabaci (Genn.) in CÔte
d'Ivoire. Unpublished report, ORSTOM, 23pp.
267b
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Days after planling
Fig. 1 Change with tirne in combined numbers of aliliving immature stages of 8emisia tabaci in a
cassava crop over the first five months of growth (Dec, 88 - May 1989). Each data point
represents the total recorded from one complete plant, except for the fmt three which are the means
from five plants.
60
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Fig. 2 Change with lime in numbers of living IV instars and 'pupae' of Bemisia tafx:lci ~n a cassava
crop over the first five months of growth (Dec. 88 - May 1989). Each data pomt 18 the mean
number recorded from leaves 10 to 17 from a sampIc of 49 plants, where leaf 1 is the youngest
(apical) open Ieaf of a stem.
267c
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o 400
s
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Leaf Number
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.1
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Leaf Number
Fig. 3 Distribution in two month old cassava of aIl immature stages of Bemisia labaci in relation to
kaf Jge. Figures are combined totals from five complete plants counted in early Fen. 1989. Leaf 1
is the youngest (apical) open leaf of a stem.
267d
