Studies on the tendency of Trialeurodes vaporariorum to shape and color

Trialeurodes vaporariorum is a globally destructive agricultural pest that inflicts severe economic losses on multiple crop families worldwide. Insect visual orientation and host plant selection are core ecological adaptive behaviors, with color and shape as key visual cues driving these processes. We used this whitefly species as a model to explore the underlying mechanisms of these behaviors in herbivorous insects. Through behavioral assays, we quantified the pest’s preference responses to visual cues differing in color, shape, and RGB values. The results showed that T. vaporariorum exhibited an overwhelming preference for specific yellow hues (RGB 215:255:6 and 255:255:0), with a significantly enhanced preference for green under green background conditions; its most favored shapes were circular and semi-circular, and the yellow-circular combination was the optimal visual cue for attraction. These findings deepen our understanding of the multi-cue integration mechanism underlying insect visual orientation and host plant selection, and reveal the context-dependent plasticity of visual preference in herbivorous insects. Furthermore, they provide general theoretical and technical insights for developing visually based, environmentally friendly pest management strategies, with universal significance for deciphering insect behavioral ecology and advancing sustainable agricultural pest control globally.