Bandedwinged Whitefly: Appearance, Territory, Damage, and Life Cycle

Latin Name: Trialeurodes Abutiloneus

Appearance: Zigzag bands may be seen across the front pair of wings of mature adult bandedwinged whiteflies. The wings towards the back are unmarked. This whitefly and greenhouse whitefly are remarkably similar insects, with the exception of the front banded wings.

The eggs are around 0.10 mm broad and 0.12 mm long. On the underside of the leaf, eggs are distributed randomly or in circles. Eggs that have just been laid are pale yellow, and shortly before they hatch, they turn pale pinkish. Young nymphs are 0.37 mm long, and as the nymphal stages develop, they grow to a length of slightly over 0.5 mm. They have a yellow patch on either side of their abdomen and are transparent white. The pupal case is 0.5 mm in width and a little about 1 mm in length.

Hosts Plants: It is believed that the bandedwinged whitefly is polyphagous (it feeds on just about any plant). Beggarticks, cotton, geranium, hibiscus, mallows, petunia, poinsettia, ragweed, and velvetleaf have all been implicated. Plants that have been severely affected turn yellow and stingy. The bandedwinged whitefly nymphs’ secreted honeydew and the sooty molds that develop in it diminish the aesthetic appeal of the infected plants.

Territory: Arizona, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and Virginia are some of the states that are included in this list. This whitefly presumably spends the winter only in greenhouses in northern regions, but it thrives outdoors on weed hosts in warmer regions.

Damage Insect Cause: Bandedwinged Whitefly damage comes in three different forms: Strongly infected twigs will exhibit the following symptoms. The first symptoms are wilting, chlorotic spotting, leaf drop, and dieback, and the second symptom is copious honeydew and accompanying sooty mold that accumulates and inhibits photosynthesis. The third is symptoms of the spread of viruses like the abutilon yellows virus, diodia vein chlorosis virus, sweet potato chlorotic stunt virus, and tomato chlorosis virus. Due to sap being removed by whitefly eating, plants may seem sickly.

Life History and Habits: In a greenhouse in April, eggs will hatch in around twelve days. At warmer temperatures, it takes fewer generations to complete an individual, allowing populations to grow fast. Although many Bandedwinged Whitefly spends the winter as adults, this is not always the case.