Question

Whiteflies are common pest insects found on cotton, tomato, poinsettia, and many other plants. Nymphs are translucent and mostly sessile, feeding on their host plants' phloem (sap) from the undersides of leaves. They undergo incomplete metamorphosis into winged adults. Because whitefly nymphs cannot escape predation by moving, you hypothesize that their translucent bodies make them hard to spot by predators. How could you directly test this hypothesis? _____ Select one: a. Compare rates of predation on whitefly nymphs on plant leaves of different colors (for example, red vs. green poinsettia leaves). b. Compare rates of predation on whitefly nymphs coated with a nontoxic dye vs. undyed whitefly nymphs. c. Compare rates of predation on whitefly nymphs vs. whitefly adults. d. Compare rates of predation on whitefly nymphs by predators that are translucent vs. predators that are not translucent. e. Compare rates of predation on whitefly nymphs feeding on poisonous plants vs. those feeding on nonpoisonous plants.

Answer 1

The hypothesis devised in this study by the researcher is –  

" White fly nymphs escape predation because of their translucent bodies."

In order to test this hypothesis, the researcher is required to conduct an experiment where two sets of white fly nymphs are formed and fed to their predators. The two set of subjects would be -  

Set I – White fly nymphs with translucent bodies  

Set II- White fly nymphs with translucent bodies coated with harmless dyes.  

The number of predated flies in each set can be compared to deduce justification for assumed hypothesis.  

Hence, option B is correct