This past Thursday Director of FPMA Region 13, Chris Reynolds of Reynolds Pest Management, Inc. hosted the routine monthly meeting in Port Saint Lucie, Florida. Many pest professionals were lucky to be able to gain their Lawn and Ornamental CEU’s by Ed Skvarch of the St. Lucie County University of Florida/ IFAS Extension. Ed Skvarch is passionate about sharing his expertise with others including his profession.

Many great and interesting facts were discussed during the meeting about whitefly control. As Ed explained, whiteflies are currently a big problem in South Florida. Pest professionals just north should be on the lookout for any sign of them. He urges them to contact him with details regards to any sightings to prevent the outbreak in our areas.

Reynolds Pest Management, Inc. is providing a recap of Thursday’s gathering. Feel free to contact either Reynolds Pest Management, Inc or Ed Skvarch in regards to any whitefly information or controlling methods.

Florida Whitefly Species

Three main Whiteflies of Florida include the Ficus Whitefly, Rugose Spiraling Whitefly, and Bondar Whitefly.

Ficus Whiteflies

This class of whiteflies will are host specific to Ficus trees. There are several types of Ficus trees throughout Florida:

• banyan trees (F. altissima and F.
• bengalensis)
• strangler fig (F. aurea)
• Cuban laurel (F. microcarpa)
• banana-leaf fig (F. maclellandii) Defoliated hedge
• fiddle-leaf fig (F. lyrata)
• Weeping Fig- Most Common in Florida

The trees will show sure signs of a whitefly infestation. The leaves will begin to turn yellow and fall in large amounts at once. If you see a ficus without leaves, this is a sure sign of an advanced infestation.

Look underneath the Ficus leaves to inspect for any visible signs of whiteflies. Adult whiteflies appear with wings and a tan band down across the wings. The silver-white tiny spots are where the adult came from; A place of immature whiteflies. The adult is capable of flying while you inspect you plants. Puparia (the young) that are alive have small red eyes at one end of their oval shaped body.

Control should be immediate; this whitefly will kill the tree or cause serious damage and branch die-back.

Life Cycle:

• Eggs 10 days
• Nymphs 11 days
• Puparia 6 days
• Adult 2-4 days

Rugose Spiraling Whitefly

This whitefly is also indentified as the Gumbo Limbo Whitefly. This pest is very easily identified by the spiraling pattern the females make when laying her eggs, hence their name.

Rugose Spiraling Whiteflies are fairly new to Florida, within the last decade. They are very slow moving pests that are capable to targeting many hosts, much less host specific. These are just a few of the species of plant/ tree that they will infest:

• gumbo limbo
• banana
• black olive
• mango
• palms
• some shrubs such as copperleaf, cocoplum,
• wax myrtle, and other plants

Unlike the Ficus Whitefly, the Rugose Spiraling Whiteflies do not severely harm your plant or tree. They will not cause branch die-back or death.

As mentioned, their spiraling patterns are the best signs of this pest. Inspect leaves for any such pattern. They will secret a waxy white substance (honeydew) on the underside of the leaves that coast their eggs for protection. The waxy like substance is another great sure sign of an infestation.

The secretion from a Rugose Spiraling Whitefly is dangerous to the plant and will lead to sooty mold is left untreated for periods of time (30 days).

Life Cycle:

• Eggs 8 days
• Nymphs 14 days
• Puparia 9 days
• Adult 14 days

Bondar’s Whiteflies

Bondar’s Whiteflies are similar to the Rugose Spiraling Whiteflies minus the spiraling pattern in egg laying. Bondar’s Whiteflies secrete honeydew as well. They secret their honeydew while they are eating on the plant. This sticky substance is extremely difficult to remove and can get onto cars or the exterior of homes. Sooty Mold is a threat to the plant when the whiteflies secrete this substance. Pest professionals describe this whitefly as white blotches upon the leaves of the plant.

This species of whiteflies is very new to Florida, University of Florida states December 2011 was the first report. Most cases of Bondar’s Nesting Whitefly is in South Florida only.

Adult Bondar’s Nesting Whiteflies are winged with several faint gray spots. Nymphs are ovals with tiny projectors around the body. They create feathery looking white fibers. Once an infestation is advanced, the leaves will appear fuzzy and white.

Plants/ Trees Invaded by this species:

• avocado
• banyan tree
• canary laurel or
• barbusano
• Chinese hibiscus
• coconut palm
• guava
• Indian laurel
• Lemon
• navel orange
• mandarin orange
• palms in the genus
• Chamaedorea
• Surinam cherry
• sweetsop
• sapote
• tilo or stinkwood

 

Predators to Whiteflies

Whiteflies can be controlled by use of other pests. This is a great form of natural pest control. Unfortunately, it is not always effective in advanced infestations.

Predators:

• Lady Bug
• Parasitic wasp
• Nepasphis oculata- beetle & larva

Upcoming Events with Ed Skvarch

May 17^th 2012 Ed Skvarch is hosting the “Basic Turfgrass Pest Management – Chinch Bug Edition” seminar. Location of the event is at the Indian River Research & Education Center, 2199 S Rock Rd, Ft Pierce, FL 34945. Follow this link to be directed to the registration site and to obtain more details, http://stlucie.ifas.ufl.edu/

 Web Resources

http://pbcgov.com/coextension/horticulture/whitefly/

http://trec.ifas.ufl.edu/mannion/pdfs/Rugose%20spiraling%20whitefly.pdf

http://mrec.ifas.ufl.edu/LSO/Whiteflies.htm

Click Here or Call 772-334-7007 for a Free Shrub Inspection | Pest Control Evaluation Today!

Port Saint Lucie, Jensen Beach: 772-334-7007, 772-337-2131
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Jupiter/Tequesta/Palm Beach: 561-746-7969
Fort Pierce: 772-464-4707
Indian River: 772-778-5507