Neonicotinoid resistance in Bemisia tabaci (Genn., 1889) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) populations from Antalya, Turkey1

Bemisia tabaci (Genn., 1889) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) is one of most important pests of many crops worldwide. Furthermore, it has the ability to rapidly develop resistance to diverse group of insecticides, hence controlling this pest is problematic. The aim of the current study was to investigate neonicotinoid resistance status of different whitefly populations collected from Antalya, Turkey during summer 2011. Bemisia tabaci populations from five different locations in Antalya were all biotype B. Resistance to acetamiprid was between 4.4 and 30.4 times the LC50 of a susceptible population. Similarly, resistance to thiamethoxam was between 8.6 and 31.8 times compared to susceptible population. With the exception of one population, there was high correlation (r2 = 0.92) between LC50 for acetamiprid and thiamethoxam. The LC50 confidence limits for all field populations overlapped for both neonicotinoids. Furthermore, LC90 values of all field populations for both neonicotinoids were higher than the recommended doses. These findings indicate development of uniform neonicotinoid resistant for whitefly in the region. The resistance homogeneity and cross resistance in the region sampled is discussed.