Presence of trehalulose and other oligosaccharides in hemipteran honeydew, particularly Aleyrodidae

Abstract. Production by a bacterium of the disaccharide trehalulose was reported 30 years ago. The association between the fabrication of trehalulose and Insecta was found more recently. It was initially discovered in the honeydew, excreta, of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci feeding on Euphorbia pulcherrima where it was the predominant sugar. In the present study, B. tabaci-produced trehalulose was again found in honeydew at significant levels, this time when the whitefly fed on 10 different plants. In seven of 10 Bemisia/host combinations, trehalulose accounted for more than 30% of the total carbohydrates found in their honeydew and was the principal oligosaccharide. Trehalulose constituents, glucose and fructose, were also present at lower levels, as were other oligosaccharides such as melezitose. Feeding by B. tabaci on the three other plant hosts also resulted in the production of trehalulose at relatively high levels (6.1–16.5%). Other whitefly species examined had little (e.g. B. afer and Aleurothrixus spp.), or no trehalulose (e.g. Trialeurodes spp. and Siphoninus phillyreae), in their honeydew. Trehalulose was also found in the honeydew of two aphid and one scale insect species. In insects whose honeydew had low levels or no trehalulose, sucrose, its constituents, or larger sugars predominated. The trisaccharide bemisiose was also found in the honeydew of half the whitefly species examined. Bemisiose was discovered here for the first time in the honeydew of three aphid species and three species of scale insects. Reasons for the production of trehalulose are often linked to high levels of dietary sucrose in whiteflies. This is probably true in our case because cotton and cucurbits, at least, are known to contain a great deal of sucrose. Although other functional possibilities were explored, the data suggest that trehalulose, being less susceptible to hydrolysis than sucrose, is involved in osmoregulation.