Populations of bandedwinged whiteflies (Homoptera : Aleyrodidae) in the northern Texas Rolling Plains

During the summer of 2000, widespread infestations of whiteflies developed in dryland and irrigated cotton fields in the northern Texas Rolling Plains. The Texas Rolling Plains whitefly was identified as bandedwinged whitefly, Trialeurodes abutiloneus (Haldeman). This whitefly had spotted wings and cream-colored thorax and abdomen, rather than the typical dark band pattern on the wings and gray-colored thorax and abdomen. This whitefly was associated with 36 plant species, from 11 plant families, during the summer-fall period of 2000 and the spring-summer period of 2001. Laboratory studies indicated that this whitefly could transfer from at least eight species of weed hosts and reproduce successfully on cotton. Giant and western ragweeds (Ambrosia trifida L. and A. psilostachya DC, resectively) appeared to be the most important alternate hosts based on intensity of infestations and abundance of these two weeds. The primary sugars in bandedwinged whitefly honeydew were glucose and fructose, and contaminated cotton lint was slightly to moderately sticky. A significant sticky lint problem did not occur in a test where numbers of immature whteflies 33/leaf. Based on sampling data collected periodically from 1988 to 2002 in two locations in the northern Rolling Plains, high bandedwinged whitefly populations were associated with summers that had multiple days with temperatures >37.8C.

Populations of bandedwinged whiteflies (Homoptera : Aleyrodidae) in the northern Texas Rolling Plains Academic Article