Monitoring butocarboxim resistance of the woolly whitefly (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) in citrus from Valencia, Spain.

Abstract

Glass vials coated internally with an insecticide were used as a resistance monitoring technique for testing field populations of the woolly whitefly, Aleurothrixus floccosus (Maskell), collected from citrus. The distribution of resistance to the insecticide butocarboxim in citrus orchards from Valencia (Spain) during 1993 and 1994 was determined by means of this technique. Adults resting on citrus shoots were captured with a portable vacuum cleaner and introduced into the vials. The technique provides control mortality of <25% when assessed 7 h after the insects are captured. In 21 populations tested, LC50s ranged from 1.8 to 42.3 mg/ml. This represents resistance ratios >20-fold among populations. Lower slopes of the concentration-mortality line were found in whitefly populations that exhibited a low level of the LC50. Resistance was widespread in the Valencia areabut spatially irregular, with nearby orchards occasionally showing wide differences in resistance levels. The levels of resistance to butocarboxim obtained with this technique closely matched the field efficacy of the insecticide. This residue bioassay provides a convenient and rapid method to monitor insecticide resistance in A. floccosus populations.