Citrus blackfly

Scientific name

Aleurocanthus woglumi (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae)

Similar species

Adults of citrus blackfly may be confused with:

small moths (Lepidoptera)

orange spiny whitefly, Aleurocanthus spiniferus

• Black pupal cases of citrus blackfly resemble those of the orange spiny whitefly, Aleurocanthus spiniferus.
• Citrus blackfly and orange spiny whitefly adults are indistinguishable in the field.

other Aleurocanthus white flies including Aleurocanthus citriperdus and Aleurocanthus husaini.

Distribution

United States: Florida, Texas, and Hawaii.

Worldwide: Africa, Bermuda, the Caribbean, Central America, China, India, Malaysia, Jamaica, Java, Pakistan, South America, Sri Lanka, Mexico, and Oceania.

Native to India.

Diagnostic characteristics

Adults

• 1.3 - 1.6 mm (0.05 - 0.063 in.) in length.
• Clear spots across the forewingforewing:
  the anterior (closest to the head) pair of wings in insects
  ; appear to create a white band pattern.
• Adults emerging from pupal cases are red with light-colored legs and reddish eyes.
• The body color is bright red at emergenceemergence:
  used to describe the completion pupation that culminates in the appearance of the adult form of an insect
  but changes to a dusty slate-grey color within 24 hours.
• The front of the headhead:
  one of the three main body segments in insects; the anterior-most segment containing the many sensory structures including the eyes, antennae, and mouthparts
  is pale yellow.

Pupae

• Fourth instarinstar:
  immature stages (larva or nymph) of insects in between molts
  (puparium) is oval, shiny, and black with a white waxy fringe and large black spines on the upper surface.
• Females average 1.24 mm (0.05 in.) in length and 0.71 mm (0.03 in.) in width.
• Males average 0.99 mm (0.04 in.) in length and 0.61mm (0.02 in.) in width.

Immatures

• Four nymphal instars.
• Brown during first instarinstar:
  immature stages (larva or nymph) of insects in between molts
  , dark brown in the second instarinstar:
  immature stages (larva or nymph) of insects in between molts
  , becomes shiny black during the third and subsequent instars.

Eggs

• 0.2 mm (0.01 in.).
• Creamy white to light brown 1 - 2 days after emergenceemergence:
  used to describe the completion pupation that culminates in the appearance of the adult form of an insect
  .
• Black color appears several days after emergenceemergence:
  used to describe the completion pupation that culminates in the appearance of the adult form of an insect
  .
• Sausage-shaped.
• Eggs are found underneath leaves in a spiral pattern.

Hosts

Citrus hosts

• citron, Citrus medica
• common mandarins (including tangerine),Citrus reticulata
• grapefruit, Citrus paradisi
• kaffir lime, Citrus hystrix
• king mandarin, Citrus nobilis
• lemon, Citrus limon
• Mexican (or Key) lime, Citrus aurantifolia
• meyer lemon, Citrus meyeri
• sweet orange, Citrus sinensis
• Persian lime (also known as Tahiti lime, Bearss lime), Citrus latifolia
• pummelo, Citrus maxima
• sour orange, Citrus aurantium
• sweet lime, Citrus limettioides

Non-citrus hosts

• avocado, Persea americana
• banana, Musa spp.
• cashew, Anacardium occidentale
• coffee, Coffea arabica
• ginger, Zingiber officinale
• grape, Vitis vinifera
• guava, Psidium guajava
• lychee, Litchi chinensis
• mango, Mangifera indica
• papaya, Carica papaya
• pear, Pyrus spp.
• pomegranate, Punica granatum
• quince, Cydonia oblonga
• rose, Rosa spp.
• Surinam cherry, Eugenia uniflora

Host damage

Fruits

• Honeydew honeydew:
  the sugar-rich waste product excreted by aphids, mealybugs, and scales insects as a result of feeding on the phloem of plants
  excreted by blackflies coats the outside of fruits and leaves, and promotes the growth of sooty mold fungus that inhibits photosynthesis, weakens the plant, and makes fruit unattractive.

Leaves

• Pierces and removes nutrients from leaves and weakens the plant.
• Prefers new leaves in the lower part of the canopycanopy:
  referring to the crown of a tree that includes the leaves, stems, and branches
  .

Biology

Eggs are deposited on the underside of leaves in a spiral pattern. Females are fairly short-lived and typically deposit three groups of eggs before expiring. Individuals complete three nymphal instars before completing a pupal phase. Life cycle ranges from 45 to 133 days. Three to six overlapping generations per year depending on local climate have been reported.

Comments

Morphology-based whitefly identification uses the pupal or 4th instarinstar:
immature stages (larva or nymph) of insects in between molts
life stage. Collect multiple specimens of the pupal life stage to aid insect identification.

All phloem-feeding, honeydew-producing pests have the potential to be tended by ants. The ants feed on the honeydewhoneydew:
the sugar-rich waste product excreted by aphids, mealybugs, and scales insects as a result of feeding on the phloem of plants
excreted by the pest and protect the pest from natural enemies. This protection can disrupt biological control programs.

References

Culbert, D.L., and D.C. Clinton. 1977. The citrus blackfly in Florida, its edible fruit host plants and control of its dissemination. Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 90: 124-126.

Ebeling, W. 1959. Sub-tropical fruit pests. Univ. of California, Div. Agric. Sci.

Evans, G.A. 2007. USDA APHIS host planthost plant:
the plant the provides sustenance for an insect
list of the whiteflies (Aleyrodidae) of the world, Ver. 070611. (http://www.sel.barc.usda.gov:8080/1WF/WhiteflyHost.pdf).

Fasulo, T.R., and R.F. Brooks. 2009. Whitefly pests of Florida citrus, ENY-815 (CH058). Entomology and Nematology Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. (http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ch058).

Hamon, A.B. 2006. Key to whitefly of citrus in Florida (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) (http://www.doacs.state.fl.us/pi/enpp/ento/aleyrodi.html).

Martin, J.H., and L.A. Mound. 2007. An annotated check list of the world's whiteflies (Insecta: Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae). Zootaxa 1492: 1-84.(http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2007f/zt01492p084.pdf).

Miller, G.L., A.S. Jensen, S. Nakahara, R.W. Carlson, D.R. Miller, and M.B. Stoetzel. 2008. USDA Systematic Entomology Laboratory (http://www.sel.barc.usda.gov/).

Nguyen, R., and A.B. Hamon. 1993. Citrus blackfly Aleurocanthus woglumi Ashby (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae), Entomol. circ. 360. Fla. Dept. Agric. and Consumer Serv., Div. of Plant Industry.(http://www.doacs.state.fl.us/pi/enpp/ento/entcirc/ent360.pdf).

Nguyen, R., A.B. Hamon, and T.R. Fasulo. 2009. Featured Creatures fact sheet: Citrus blackfly, Aleurocanthus woglumi Ashby (Insecta: Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae). Publication EENY-42. University of Florida. (http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/citrus/citrus_blackfly.htm).

Pena, M. R., N.M. Da Silva, J.D. Vendramim, A.L. Courenção, and M.M.L. Haddad. 2009. Biologia da Mosca-Negra-dos-Citros, Aleurocanthus woglumi Ashby (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), em Três Plantas Hospedeiras. Crop Protection. 38: 254-261. (http://www.scielo.br/pdf/ne/v38n2/v38n2a14.pdf).

(OEPP/EPPO) European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization. 2002. Diagnostic protocols for regulated pests Protocoles de diagnostic pour les organismes réglementés Aleurocanthus woglumi. Bulletin OEPP/EPPO Bulletin 32: 241-265.
(http://eppo.org/QUARANTINE/insects/Aleurocanthus_woglumi/ALECWO_protocol.pdf).

Tsai, J.H., and B. Steinberg. 1991. Current status of the citrus blackfly, Aleurocanthus woglumi (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae), and its parasites in South Florida. Fla. Entomol. 74: 153-156. (http://www.jstor.org/stable/3495255?seq=1).

Walker, K. 2009. Aleurocanthus whitefly (Aleurocanthus citriperdus). Pest and Diseases Image Library. (http://www.padil.gov.au/viewPestDiagnosticImages.aspx?id=1055).

Authors

Weeks, J.A., K.W. Martin, A.C. Hodges, and N.C. Leppla