Aleurodicus dispersus Russell

Taxonomic position

Insecta: Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Aleyrodoidea: Aleyrodidae: Aleurodicinae

Common name

Spiralling whitefly

Host plants

A highly polyphagous introduced pest with over 160 host plants including agricultural and horticultural crops and ornamentals.

Pest status

An exotic pest, kept under control by Encarsia guadeloupae (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae), fortuitously introduced along with the host in the late 1990s and also indigenous predators, mainly Axinoscymnus puttarudriahi Kapur & Munshi (Coccinellidae) and Cybocephalus spp. (Nitidulidae).

Natural enemies

Encarsia guadeloupae, E. dispersa, Axinoscymnus puttarudriahi, Serangium parcesetosum, Cybocephalus sp., Acletoxenus sp., Spalgis epeus, Jauravia spp., Scymnus coccivora, S. latemaculatus, S. castaneus, Notiobiella viridinervis, Mallada desjardinsi, etc.

Images