The increasing importance of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci race B (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) as one of the major agricultural pest of this century, has resulted in a search for natural enemies that can be used in biological control programs. The response of naive females of Encarsia formosa (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae)to volatiles from its hostspecies: insect (B. tabacci race B) and plant (Lycopersicom esculentum Mill.) were tested using 4-nose olfactometre. Parasitoid was not attracted by neither or insect hostspecies volatile.
Bemisia tabaci; silverleafwhitefly; parasitoid; behaviour