Whiteflies belong to the family Aleyrodidae, and they're Hemipterans that feed on the undersides of plant leaves. More than 1550 species are part of this family. The most damaging whiteflies are Bemisia argentifolii & Bemisia tabaci which are responsible for many crops failure worldwide. They are true bugs, look white during adult stages, and could easily be noticed on the undersides of the leaves where they feed and live. Generally, they look like tiny white dots that remain stick to the undersides of the leaves during the nymph stage. Whiteflies are also active carriers of sooty mold and leaf curl virus, and significant damages can be seen once they become a flyer. Whiteflies are the most disastrous pests that attack most commercial crops, vegetables, garden plants, and ornamental plants throughout the world.
The oldest members of the family belong to the Lower Cretaceous period. Bemisia tabaci are reported to have originated from Sub-Saharan Africa. Whereas, Bemisia argentifolii is supposed to have originated from Greece in 1889, while the US noticed their first appearance in 1897 on sweet potatoes. Some researchers also believe that whiteflies originated from India or the Middle East. Bemisia argentifolii occurs throughout the world in subtropical and tropical areas and most of the greenhouses in temperate regions whereas, it is an invasive pest in greenhouses in the US. Sliver leaf whiteflies also maintain good populations in Southern deserts especially, Coachella valley, Imperial, Palo Verde, and southern San Joaquin Valley in the US. Generally, whiteflies prevalence is common in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, North Carolina, New Mexico, and Texas on commercial, indoor, and garden plants.
Most whitefly species have a wingspan of 3 mm or less, and their body is 1 mm to 2 mm long. Some giant species may have a length up to 5 millimeters. They look tiny when flying and pretty small and flattened, sometimes oval, when feeding on the undersides of the leaves during Nymph stages and can be seen with a naked eye. Bemesia argentifolii causes huge destructions in the vegetables and fruit orchards, while B. tabaci destroys commercial crops such as Tobacco, Cotton, and Cereals. The best time to identify them is the nymph stages when they're semi motile on the undersides of the leaves, sucking the sap. They may have red eyespot when they change their instar from a nymph to an adult. The pupa of the Silver leaf whitefly is rounded and looks domed-shaped without filaments. Several pairs of waxy filaments may arise from the top. Usually, the adults remain white, although Silver leaf whiteflies are more yellowish. However, whiteflies' color alone is not the basis for their identification but, the angle of their wings to their bodies.
Females lay eggs on the undersides of leaves, bark crevices, and inside the buds of the plants. Generally, Egg numbers vary between 200 to 300 per female depending on the temperature and the surrounding humidity. A female lives up to 45 days during her life. Whiteflies spend their entire life on the same host except for the mature stage that allows them to migrate to neighboring plants. Usually, the eggs are arranged on tiny spindles arranged in semi-circles. Hatching may take between 8 to 10 days at 65°-75°F. Upon hatching, nymphs remain adhered to the leaves until they move into the next instar. Depending on the temperatures and the site humidity, whiteflies may have between 11 to 23 generations in a calendar year.
Whiteflies are heavy sap feeders that could reduce the overall vigor of plants. As their infestations exceed, the leaves curl upwards, leaf margins turn yellow and brown, and sheds from the branch. Whiteflies may transmit over a hundred plant viruses and diseases. They collected and sap and virus together from one plant into the neighboring plants. Some plants species are disease-specific and may not show disease symptoms or viruses infestations others may respond immediately. Besides sucking sap, they secrete sticky saliva on the surface of the leaves that attracts sooty mold and many other fungal diseases. Whiteflies are also considered the carriers of tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLC) and Gemini Virus on Cotton causing (CLCV) which, are hard to recover and diminish thousands of acres of standing crops in the growing season.
Often, whiteflies reach your garden with the plants and the planting materials that arrive from the nurseries. Otherwise, they hatch from the eggs which were laid under the leaves and bark crevices and infect your plants when the environment is conducive.
Besides following all preventive measures if whiteflies infestations go beyond your control, here are the most authentic ways to keep their population suppressed using the biological, organic, and chemical methodologies;
Lady Bird Beetles feed on many slow-moving pests, including whiteflies nymphs, aphids, thrips, mites, and scale insects. However, they are unable to feed on adult whiteflies. Whenever live bugs or eggs are released in the garden, ladybird lays eggs on the surfaces of the leaves. The eggs hatch and, the beetle larva become ready to feed on whiteflies nymph within 7-days.
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Release them in the garden after washing the surfaces of the leaves with splashing water. About 1500 live bugs can effectively control pests of all categories in 1000 square feet area.
Minute Pirate Bugs are Orius insidiosis, and its female lays eggs inside the plant tissues. They hatch and become able to pray in about 20 days. It is possible to have their several generations during one cropping season. Both nymphs and adults feed on nymph and adult whiteflies. Usually, they insert their long beak into the victim's body and suck body juices to leave their skeleton. They are voracious eaters and reach where the pray exists.
One live Minute Pirate bug can eat up to 80 live nymphs or eggs per day.
AzaMax contains 1.2% Azadirachtin, and it's a limonoid containing Azadirachtin A & B, derived from the seeds of the neem tree. Azadirachtin possesses a diversified mode of action, and it serves as antifeedant, insecticides, fungicides, miticides, and nematicides at once. It provides excellent control against nymph and adult whiteflies that were otherwise resistant to chemical insecticides. AzaMax formulates in a way that it can be used for any culture that raises whiteflies, whether it's a garden bed or hydroponics. It’s also OMRI listed and safe for organic gardening.
Add one tablespoon of AzaMax per one gallon of water and apply a mist sprayer on the foliage.
Spinosad Soap contains 0.94% Potassium Salts of Fatty Acids and 0.005% of Spinosad A and D in its ready-to-use chemistry that kills adult whiteflies, nymphs, and several other insect pests that are hard to kill with traditional insecticides. Moreover, it can be used on all edibles that include vegetables, fruits, and microgreens in all sorts of cultures. The mode of action is direct contact and the pests that receive mist on them, die immediately. The product chemistry is OMRI listed and considered safe for organic gardening.
Spinosad Soap comes in a ready-to-use formulation and sprays directly on the surfaces of the leaves.
Safari contains 20% Dinotefuran, an insecticide from the neonicotinoid class that possesses a systemic mode of action. It effectively kills whiteflies, aphids, thrips, mealybugs, and several other listed pests on vegetables, orchards, and turfgrasses in outdoor and indoor cultures. The mode of action is disrupting the insects' nervous system by obstructing nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. Feeding stops soon after applications, and the targeted pests die immediately. Since Dinotefuran is harmful to the bees and other pollinators, applications during flowering should avoid.
Add 2 to 2.5 ml of Dinotefuran when the target is foliar spraying. Otherwise, use up to 7ml per one gallon of water if you need to drench it for whiteflies control.
Check out our other guides on common garden bugs.
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