Reproductive performance of Aleurocybotus indicus (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) fed on different cultivars of rice plants

When establishing an efficient banker plant system consisting of rice plant, alternate host Aleurocybotus indicus David and Subramaniam (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), and natural energy Encarsia sophia Girault and Dodd (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae), searching the most suitable rice plant to culture alternate host is the primary step. The population fitness of A. indicus feeding on different rice cultivars was measured with the method of two-sex life table. The results showed that the developmental time of A. indicus feeding on Changyou (CY, 7.2 d), Hangyou (HY, 6.8 d), and Guangshan (GS, 6.9 d) rice plants was shorter than when feeding on Ningjing (NJ, 8.0 d) and Luoyou (LY, 8.0 d) rice plants. The net reproductive rate ( R 0 ) of A. indicus feeding on the CY (47.3 eggs), JJ (Jinjing, 42.1 eggs), and NJ (47.9 eggs) was greater than that when feeding on the LY (24.7 eggs) rice plant. The intrinsic rate of increase ( r ) seen in CY (0.1718 d −1 ) and JJ (0.1638 d −1 ) plants was significantly greater than that seen in LY (0.1378 d −1 ). In conclusion, the data show that CY and JJ rice plants were the most suitable hosts for breeding A. indicus .