Silverleaf whitefly

Silverleaf whitefly
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hemiptera
Family:	Aleyrodidae
Genus:	Bemisia
Species:	B. argentifolii
Binomial name
Bemisia argentifolii Bellows and Perring

The silverleaf whitefly (Bemisia argentifolii, formerly referred to as sweetpotato whitefly-strain B Bemisia tabaci) is one of several whiteflies that are currently important agricultural pests. The silverleaf whitefly was first found in poinsettia crops in Florida in the mid-1980s. It was found to have moved on to tomatoes and other fruit and vegetable crops less than a year later. Within five years, the silverleaf whitefly had caused over $100 million in damage to the Texas and California agriculture industries.

The silverleaf whitefly attacks a multitude of agricultural plants, including squash, melons, cole crops, cucumber, eggplant, peanut, soybeans, cotton, and many other crops.

The adult silverleaf whitefly is about 1 millimeter in length and pale yellow in color.

References

• Fan, Yuqing Fan and Petitt, Frederick. Dispersal of the broad mite, Polyphagotarsonemus latus (Acari: Tarsonemidae) on Bemisia argentifolii (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae). Experimental & Applied Acarology 22: 411–5. Retrieved 2007-02-21

External links

• silverleaf whitefly on the UF / IFAS Featured Creatures Web site
• USDA Whitefly Knowledgebase
• CISR - Silverleaf Whitefly Center for Invasive Species Research summary on Silverleaf Whitefly
• Species Profile- Silverleaf Whitefly (Bemisia argentifolii), National Invasive Species Information Center, United States National Agricultural Library. Lists general information and resources for Silverleaf Whitefly.