Water uptake from plant tissue by the egg pedicel of the greenhouse whitefly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westwood) (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae)

Proof is provided that the egg pedicel of Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westwood) serves as a conduit for water from plant tissue into the egg. Movement was demonstrated by using tritiated water to irrigate plants supporting whitefly eggs and later measuring tritiated water activity in the eggs. Calculations showed that approximately 50% of the mass of a mature egg consists of water imbibed from plant tissue. Eggs were also weighed at intervals of 5 min and 1, 4, 8, 24, and 48 h after being oviposited. The increase in their mass (47%) over time agrees with the calculations involving tritiated water uptake.