Aleyrodidae sp. (family)
Whitefly at Reid, ACT
Identify this sighting
| Aleyrodidae sp. (family) | MichaelMulvaney | 24 May 2018 | |
| Aleyrodidae sp. (family) | RogerF | 6 May 2018 | |
| Unverified | JanetRussell | 6 May 2018 |
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User's notes
Insect 1mm long
6 comments
7 May 2018
Roger and Kim - I looked up the ALA records for this introduced species which are very sparse in Australia and not recorded before in our region. It is described as being within the worlds 100 worst pests - I'm wondering whether this is a "new" infestation that we should try and control - or at least get Janet to make a collection and confirm ID?
7 May 2018
Michael, on the assumption this is Bemisia tabaci and not Trialeurodes vaporariorum (not sure how to distinguish them from these images) the situation is potentially very complex as a CABI datasheet explains (see https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/8927 ). From the datasheet “…it is generally accepted that, rather than one complex species, B. tabaci is a complex of 11 genetic groups. These genetic groups are composed of at least 34 morphologically indistinguishable species,..” At least one member of this species complex appears to be native to Australia (Eastern Australian Native Whitefly) see https://www.cottoninfo.com.au/sites/default/files/documents/SLW%20booklet%20-%20Nov%202016.pdf . The serious nature of members of this pest group arises both from direct crop feeding damage and the capacity to vector many serious plant viruses, but all this can depend on the biotype. If the ACT gov't has access to the Australian Plant Pest Database you might be able to get a better idea of the distribution for this species.
7 May 2018
Thanks Ken at the very least the links you provided indicate that it is widespread across eastern Australia, much more than ALA records suggested
9 May 2018
Thanks Janet - I think it is more common and widespread than I first thought - so no more action required at this stage
9 May 2018
I don't have the expertise to separate Bemisia from Trialeurodes so perhaps it should be treated as an unknown species of whitefly. Aleyrodidae.
Location information
- Coordinates 149.139000-35.287800
- Altitude 456.0m
- Places Reid, ACT
Sighting information
- 4 - 15 Abundance
- 5 May 2018 06:49 PM Recorded on
- JanetRussell Recorded by
- Common mint Mentha sp Associated plant
- Less than 5mm Animal size
Collections
- Insects Psyllids, lerps, aphids & whiteflies (Hemiptera, several families) JanetRussell Canberra & Southern Tablelands NatureMapr Aleyrodidae sp. (family)
Species information
- Aleyrodidae sp. (family) Scientific name
- Whitefly Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Exotic
- Medium weed or pest
- Up to 917.98m Recorded at altitude
- External link More information
Record quality
Quality score
5 / 7
- Images or audio
- More than one media file
- Verified by an expert moderator
- Description
- Additional attributes
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species
- GPS evidence of location