Whitefly (Bemisia tabaci Gennadius) is a hemipteran phyto polyphagous sucking insect pest which is an important pest of cotton that causes economic losses to the crop by reducing its yield and quality. Ecdysteroids such as 20-hydroxy ecdysone (20-E), play a significant role in larval moulting, development, and reproduction in pterygota insects. Receptor of 20-E, that is Ecdysone Receptor (BtEcR) of Bemisia tabaci has been targeted to prevent fundamental developmental processes. To identify potent inhibitors of BtEcr, 98,072 natural compounds were retrieved from ZINC database. A structure-based virtual screening of these compounds was performed for evaluating their binding affinity to BtEcR, and top two compounds (ZINC08952607 and ZINC04264850) selected based on lowest binding energy. Molecular dynamics simulation (MDS) study was performed for analyzing the dynamics and stability of BtEcR and top-scoring ligand-BtEcR complexes at 50 ns. Besides, g_mmpbsa tool was also used to calculate and analyse the binding free energy of BtEcR-ligand complexes. Compounds ZINC08952607 and ZINC04264850 had shown a binding free energy of −170.156 kJ mol-1 and −200.349 kJ mol-1 in complex with BtEcR respectively. Thus, these compounds can be utilized as lead for the development of environmentally safe insecticides against the whitefly.

Thirty-three species referable to twenty-four genera belonging to five families, namely, Hesperiidae (1), Lycaenidae (6), Nymphalidae (14), Papilionidae (3) and Pieridae (9) from different localities of University campus were collected and identified. The details on their synonymy, material examined, and host distribution along with plants are provided. The photographs of the adults are also given.

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Whitefly (Bemisia tabaci Gennadius) is a hmpteran phyto polyphagous sucking insect pest which is an important pest of cotton that causes economic losses to the crop by reducing its yield and quality. Ecdysteroids like 20-hydroxy ecdysone (20-E), have significant role in larval moulting, development, and reproduction in pterygota insects. Intending to obstruct these fundamental, developmental physiological processes, the receptor of 20-E, the Ecdysone Receptor (BtEcR) of Bemisia tabaci has been targeted. To identify potent inhibitors of BtEcr, 98,072 natural compounds were retrieved from ZINC database. A structure-based virtual screening of these compounds was conducted for their binding to BtEcR and the top two compounds (ZINC08952607 and ZINC04264850) were selected based on minimum binding energy. 50 ns molecular dynamics simulation (MDS) study was then performed for the prediction of dynamics and stability of BtEcR and top-scoring ligand-BtEcR complexes. Besides, g_mmpbsa tool was used to calculate and analyse binding free energy of BtEcR-ligand complexes. The results revealed that ZINC08952607 and ZINC04264850 had binding free energy of − 170.156 kJ/mol and − 200.349 kJ/mol, respectively. Thus, these ligands can be utilized as lead compounds for the development of environmentally safe insecticides against the whitefly.

Whitefly (Bemisia tabaci Gennadius) is a hmpteran phyto polyphagous sucking insect pest which is an important pest of cotton that causes economic losses to the crop by reducing its yield and quality. Ecdysteroids like 20-hydroxy ecdysone (20-E), have significant role in larval moulting, development, and reproduction in pterygota insects. Intending to obstruct these fundamental, developmental physiological processes, the receptor of 20-E, the Ecdysone Receptor (BtEcR) of Bemisia tabaci has been targeted. To identify potent inhibitors of BtEcr, 98,072 natural compounds were retrieved from ZINC database. A structure-based virtual screening of these compounds was conducted for their binding to BtEcR and the top two compounds (ZINC08952607 and ZINC04264850) were selected based on minimum binding energy. 50 ns molecular dynamics simulation (MDS) study was then performed for the prediction of dynamics and stability of BtEcR and top-scoring ligand-BtEcR complexes. Besides, g_mmpbsa tool was used to calculate and analyse binding free energy of BtEcR-ligand complexes. The results revealed that ZINC08952607 and ZINC04264850 had binding free energy of −170.156 kJ/mol and −200.349 kJ/mol, respectively. Thus, these ligands can be utilized as lead compounds for the development of environmentally safe insecticides against the whitefly.