Ever since I was a child, I have had an extreme phobia of insects. Some children are afraid of snakes, others of dogs, but for me it was always the droning sound of an insects wings flapping near a light in my house that got me into true panic mode. From cockroaches to spiders and everything else in between, my phobia of these creepy crawlers has remained alive and well until this very day. L

uckily, it appears as though I’m not the only one who should fear these tiny pests. Recent research conducted by scientists at the American Phytopathological Society (APS) has discovered that a tiny insect commonly referred to as the white fly (Bemosoa tabaci) is single handedly responsible for transmitting a large group of viruses that infect hundreds of plant species worldwide.

Judith Brown, a professor of plant sciences at the University of Arizona and one of the leading researchers of this study said of the findings, “Once considered an obscure whitefly, B. tabaci is now among the most invasive and economically damaging insects to agriculture, spanning food and fiber crops, and certain nursery grown ornamentals, with the ability to infest more than 500 plant species”. This species of fly is especially dangerous because of the fact that has developed the ability to become immune to new pesticides in a very short period of time.

Hopefully, research like this study conducted by the American Phytopathological Society will find a remedy to this potentially enormous problem. Until that point in time, however, I have this to say to the hundreds of plants adversely affected by this ruthless bug: I feel your pain.

Question: Given your knowledge of the immune system of plants and animals, what sort of process do you think leads the white fly to gain immunity so quickly to pesticides?

Article Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070118161622.htm

Scientific Link: http://www.apsnet.org/online/feature/btabaci/