title: Reproduction of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) B biotype in maize fields (Zea mays L.) in Brazil.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Bemisia tabaci (Genn.) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) was observed to have completed its reproductive cycle from the egg to the adult on maize (Zea mays L.). Field and screenhouse studies were carried out to investigate the durability of this putative and unprecedented adaptation to a grass host.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Analysis of the mitochondrial COI gene sequence identified the maize-associated B. tabaci as the exotic B biotype (major clade North Africa-Mediterranean-Middle East). Results showed that whiteflies migrated from soybean crops and successfully established in maize plants. Females exhibited a preference for oviposition primarily on the first and second leaves of maize, but were also able to colonise developing leaves. A high, natural infestation on maize (193.3 individuals, all developmental stages) was observed within a 7.1 cm2designated 'observation area'. Whiteflies collected from naturally infested maize leaves and allowed to oviposit on maize seedlings grown in a screenhouse developed from egg to adulthood in 28.6 ± 0.2 days.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is the first report of the B biotype completing its development on maize plants. This surprising anomaly indicates that the B biotype is capable of adapting to monocotyledonous host plants, and importantly, broadens the host range to include at least one species in the Poaceae. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.
authors.affiliation: EMBRAPA Arroz e Feijão, Santo Antônio de Goiás, Goiás, Brazil. eliane.quintela@embrapa.br.
authors.forename: Eliane D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Quintela
authors.affiliation: EMBRAPA Arroz e Feijão, Santo Antônio de Goiás, Goiás, Brazil.
authors.forename: Aluana G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Abreu
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil.
authors.forename: Julyana F Dos S
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Lima
authors.affiliation: EMBRAPA Arroz e Feijão, Santo Antônio de Goiás, Goiás, Brazil.
authors.forename: Gabriel M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Mascarin
authors.affiliation: Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Tocantins, Lagoa da Confusão, Tocantins, Brazil.
authors.forename: Jardel B Dos
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.affiliation: School of Plant Sciences, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
authors.forename: Judith K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D006430:Hemiptera / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D060434:Herbivory; D010058:Oviposition; D012098:Reproduction; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D003313:Zea mays / Q000254:growth & development
keywords: Aleyrodidae; Poaceae; developmental time; host range; mitochondrial COI gene; phenotypic plasticity