Whiteflies

I suggest...

Woolly whitefly (Aleurothrixus floccosus). I've only found mention of two whitefly species that make substantial fluff like this, and the other species (giant whitefly) has strongly patterned wings. Maybe someone who actually knows about whiteflies can confirm...

… Charley Eiseman, 20 December, 2008 - 12:07am

I would place it in Giant Whi

I would place it in Giant Whitefly (Aleurodicus dugesii). The long strands are typical of this species, while Wooly Whitefly has shorter, tufty wool that just covers the nymphs. I also seem to make out some vague patterning on the wings of the adults.

… Dennis Haines, 20 December, 2008 - 12:49pm

Size?

What's the normal size for giant whiteflies? I would have thought 1 mm would be too small... I see what you're saying about the wool though.

… Charley Eiseman, 20 December, 2008 - 1:52pm

Adult Giant Whitefly can be 3

Adult Giant Whitefly can be 3-4 mm (ca. 3/16 in.) in length. I placed more importance in the long strands than the size as sited. Wooly Whitefly just doesn't make this kind of material.

… Dennis Haines, 26 December, 2008 - 5:18pm

Lots of these whiteflies -

in my urban area - I'll see if I can find some more this upcoming year...

… Ken Schneider, 21 December, 2008 - 10:59pm

Have a look at these

I stumbled across a couple of images you might be interested in.

… John R. Maxwell, 25 October, 2007 - 8:12am

Thanks so much John!

These pictures are an excellent match for what I'm seeing! You and Dr. Hamilton have both come to the same conclusion - thanks for your help! I'm hesitant to assume that we've found the precise species without some further confirmation, but I will put these pics into the Whitefly family if there are no objections...

… Ken Schneider, 25 October, 2007 - 10:10am

Not an ID

But you might take a look in aphids, likely woolly aphids.
http://bugguide.net/node/view/147/bgpage

… John R. Maxwell, 22 October, 2007 - 10:56am

Thanks!

I've now added some backlit, poor quality photos of the small bugs on the leaf, taken with a digital camera pointed down the ocular of a compound microscope (at 40X total mag). These seem to show winged aphids with cornicles. Maybe not wooly aphids, as there doesn't seem to be hair on these insects? Maybe a gall induced by aphids? Help!

… Ken Schneider, 23 October, 2007 - 9:29pm

Changed -

titles of images to avoid confusion.

… Ken Schneider, 24 September, 2008 - 3:53pm