New Whiteflies

We have two whiteflies in Florida attacking common hedge plants.

The newest whitefly has no common name and is called Asiothrixus antidesmae.  This species is attacking Ixora sp. in the St. Petersburg area.  The Department of Plant Industry has issued a Pest Alert which you can find here.  This species has been reported from a number of hosts including
Anthurium andraeanum, Gardenia jasminoides, Ocimum sp. and Calophyllum inophyllum.  There are a number of photos posted at the link given below.

The other species, Aleurotrachelus trachoides (Back), has been in Florida for a number of years and only recently has it been reported to be causing significant problems. This species has a large host range but seems to prefer such hosts as tomato, pepper and other members of the Solanaceae. In a greenhouse in Apopka, we have seen this whitefly kill it's hosts.  Duranta erecta, which is in the verbena family, seems to be hit particularly hard in the landscape.  Some people have reported this whitefly killing their hedges.

Link to photos of both species:
http://mrec.ifas.ufl.edu/lso/WHITEFLIES/new%20whitefly/index.html

If you see any plant infested with what you think my be either of the whiteflies please let Dr. Lance Osborne know. lsosborn@ufl.edu