Whiteflies

Adult whiteflies are extremely small insects with white wings. If bothered, they may rise in what appears to be a cloud of dust.

Whiteflies, in both the nymph and adult stages, feed on plants by sucking juices from the plant tissue. As a result, an infected plant may not appear to be fully developed.

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Facts

Description | Reproduction | Habitat

So... What's a Whitefly?

Adult whiteflies are extremely small insects with white wings. If bothered, they may rise in what appears to be a cloud of dust.

Nymphs in their first stage appear similar to scale. They have tiny legs for crawling around on the leaf. In their remaining instar stages, they become legless and appear transparent.

Eggs are miniscule in size and yellowish or grayish in color.

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Reproduction Patterns of Whiteflies

Adult whiteflies deposit their eggs on the underneath side of plant leaves. The eggs hatch in several days and the emerging nymphs crawl about at first before und Whiteflies on a leaf ergoing several instar stages in which they become immobile. They then go through a pupal stage in which they develop into mature adults.

This entire process from emerging nymph to mature adult can take a month, and there may be several generations in a year. In warmer regions and in greenhouses, this reproduction cycle occurs on a continuous basis.

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Whitefly's Habitat

Whiteflies are found in warmer regions of the United States and in greenhouses throughout North America. Adults can be found on the undersides of leaves in large gatherings. They also can be found on ornamental plants as well as fruit and vegetable crops.

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Images courtesy of Oklahoma State University and Forestry Images.
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