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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies (Hemiptera) » Plant-parasitic Hemipterans (Sternorrhyncha) » Aleyrodoidea » Whiteflies (Aleyrodidae)

Family Aleyrodidae - Whiteflies

Whiteflies on Vernonia baldwinii leaf Whitefly Aleurochiton? on Acer rubrum Whitefly - Aleurochiton a day later - Paraleyrodes Soft Scale Insect? Unknown Whitefly Aleurochiton forbesii
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Hemiptera (True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies)
Suborder Sternorrhyncha (Plant-parasitic Hemipterans)
Superfamily Aleyrodoidea
Family Aleyrodidae (Whiteflies)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
overview in(1)
Explanation of Names
Aleyrodidae Westwood 1840
Numbers
~1,600 spp. in ~160 genera total(2)(3)
Size
Usually <3 mm
Identification
Adults are winged and covered with white dust or waxy powder. Identification to genus or species usually requires close examination of so-called pupa (inactive last nymphal stage).
Keys in (3)(4) (based on pupae)
Range
worldwide
Food
Feed on leaves • Symbiotic proteobacterium Portiera aleyrodidarum helps the insect get amino acids(5)
Life Cycle
First instar nymphs are active, subsequent instars are sessile and look like scales. The final stages feed for a short time then have an extended non-feeding period during which the pharate adult develops.
Works Cited
1.The whiteflies (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) of the world and their host plants and natural enemies
G. A. Evans. 2007. USDA/Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).
2.Evans G.A., Hamon A.B. (2002) Whitefly taxonomic and ecological website: An on-line interactive catalog of the whiteflies...
3.Dooley J. (2011) Whitefly pupa of the world. Compendium and key to the genera of the Aleurodicinae & the Aleyrodinae
4.An identification guide to the whiteflies (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) of the southeastern United States
Hodges G.S., Evans G.A. 2005. Fla. Entomol. 88: 518-534.
5.The Insects : Structure and Function
R. F. Chapman. 1998. Cambridge University Press.
Contributed by Hannah Nendick-Mason on 13 September, 2004 - 6:17pm
Additional contributions by cotinis, Beatriz Moisset, ceiseman, v belov, Marci Hess
Last updated 12 November, 2023 - 3:57pm

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