Transmitting Plant Viruses Using Whiteflies

Improving our understanding of and our ability to manage many of the insect-transmitted plant viruses requires the use of the vector. Insect transmission of plant viruses is a tritrophic interaction, and as such requires the manipulation of insects, virus, and plant. Vectors must be reared in large numbers and manipulated in such a way as to insure high rates of transmission to test plants. The basics of rearing and manipulating the whitefly, Bemisa tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), a vector of plant viruses belonging to several emerging plant virus genera, representing a large number of economically significant viruses is presented.