The first observations on the presence of Bemisia tabaci biotype B (=B. argentifolii) in Brazil were made in the beginning of the 1990s in the State of São Paulo. from then on, that whitefly has spread out to other States. In the summer of 1997/98, B. tabaci biotype B reached Guaíra-Miguelopólis, an area of the State of São Paulo not yet infested, with high populations of the insect, mainly in soybean, cotton and vegetable crops. In the the first week of February 1998, during a survey in an abandoned field of soybean, an epizootic of Aschersonia cf. goldiana was verified on that whitefly in the whole area, with total infection of nymphs in the lower surface of the leaves. At the same date, in two other soybean fields of the region, the incidence of this entomopathogen was low, but it increased in the following two weeks, reaching high control levels of the insect, which was similar to the previously observed field. This occurrence indicates A. cf. goldiana as a potential agent for biological control of B. tabaci biotype B.
Insecta; aleyrodidae; Bemisia argentifolii; silverleaf whitefly; biological control; Coelomycetes