Greenhouse whitefly

Common pest causing severe damage in various protected crops during entire growing season.

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Characteristics

  • Adults (1-2mm) with wax coated slightly overlapping horizontal wings - found in plant head
  • Tiny white oval eggs (0.2mm), and mobile early larval stage (0.3mm) - found on upper parts of plant
  • Older larval stages, including disc-shaped hairy pupae - found lower down.
  • Adults emerge pushing their way out of the pupal case, resulting in T-shaped hole.

Life cycle

  • Female adults start laying eggs 1 to 2 days after hatching
  • Fertility is temperature and host plant dependent - eg typically lays 100 eggs on tomato, 200 on cucumber and 300 on eggplant
  • Six development stages: egg, 4 larval stages and adult
  • Development from egg to adult is temperature and host dependent. On tomato plants takes 21 days at 25 °C/77 °F and 51 days at 15 °C/59 °F, while on sweet pepper takes 27 days at 25 °C/77 °F.

Damage caused

  • Greenhouse whitefly larvae and adults suck plant sap from leaves
  • Honeydew secretions foul leaves and fruit
  • Fungal sooty mould often grows on honeydew – reducing photosynthesis.
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