Aleuroplatus coronata

Aleuroplatus coronata
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Suborder: Sternorrhyncha
Family: Aleyrodidae
Genus: Aleuroplatus
Species:
A. coronata
Binomial name
Aleuroplatus coronata
(Quaintance, 1900)
Synonyms
  • Aleurodes coronata Quaintance, 1900

Aleuroplatus coronata, the crown whitefly, is a species of whitefly in the family Aleyrodidae. It is native to the southern United States and Mexico, and it is now established in California, where it is associated with oak and chestnut trees.[1][2]

Life cycle

Adult crown whiteflies are small flying insects with pale yellow bodies, about 1 mm long.[3] They have four white wings, which appear covered in a dusty wax,[4] and somewhat resemble the wings of a small moth.[2] The adult lays cigar-shaped eggs, which hatch into nymphs, with small, elliptical, semitransparent bodies and antennae, legs, and hairs extending laterally from their margins.[5] The nymphs lose their legs in their second instar, attach themselves to the underside of leaves, and remain immobile into the pupal stage.[2] The pupae are enclosed in puparium, or the exoskeleton of the final larval instar. The puparium is surrounded by a characteristic crown of waxy filaments or plates, inspiring the common name, crown whitefly.

Aleuroplatus coronata shown covering the underside of a coast live oak leaf
Aleuroplatus coronata shown covering the underside of a coast live oak leaf in Santa Clara County.

Natural history

Aleuroplatus coronata consumes sap from its hosts, and favors coast live oak in particular.[4] Although heavy infestations may cause leaves to fall, the whitefly does not otherwise significantly harm its host trees.[3]

Crown whiteflies have natural predators in California, such as the Delphastus lady beetle.[6] The nymphs and pupae can also be parasitized by parasitoid wasps from the family Aphelinidae, such as Eretmocerus haldemani, Encarsia aurantii, and Encarsia citrella, and Encarsia pergandiella.[7] The presence of these parasitoids can be recognized by a change in color. Some parasitoids blacken the pupa, while E. pergandiella changes the pupa from white to bright yellow, then brown.[8]

References

  1. ^ Eiseman, Charley (January 4, 2010). "Species Aleuroplatus coronata - Crown Whitefly". BugGuide. Retrieved October 2, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c "Crown Whitefly". Veseris. Retrieved October 2, 2025.
  3. ^ a b Brown, Leland R (1965). "A technical study of insects affecting the oak tree in southern California". Berkeley, Calif.: Division of Agricultural Sciences.
  4. ^ a b Flint, M. L. (August 1, 2020). "Whiteflies". University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program. Retrieved October 2, 2025.
  5. ^ Bemis, Florence Eugenie (1904). "The aleyrodids, or mealy-winged flies, of California, with references to other American species". Proceedings of the United States National Museum. 27 (1362): 471–537. doi:10.5479/si.00963801.27-1362.471.
  6. ^ "Whitefly Predatory Delphastus Lady Beetles". University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program. Retrieved October 2, 2025.
  7. ^ Mound, Laurence Alfred; Halsey, Sheila H (1978). Whitefly of the world. A systematic catalogue of the Aleyrodidae (Homoptera) with host plant and natural enemy data. British Museum (Natural History) and Wiley.
  8. ^ "Whitefly Encarsia pergandiella Parasitoid". University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program. Retrieved October 2, 2025.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.