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 The citrus whitefly, of apparent
Asiatic origin, has sporadically invaded citrus areas worldwide (Kennett et
al. 1999). It was a serious pest of
citrus in Florida prior to 1880, but later became very serious in other Gulf
Coast states. Dialeurodes citri first appeared in California in 1907, but never
became a serious pest (Kennett et al. 1999).
Citrus whitefly was found in France around 1945, and then spread
throughout the Mediterranean Basin.
It is also known to occur in the Soviet Union, Turkey and Israel.
Biological control
attempts were begun in 1910 when the U. S. Department of Agriculture sent R.
S. Woglum to Asia for natural enemies (Woglum 1913). After 16 months of exploration, Woglum
returned to Florida with cultures of Encarsia
(= Prospaltella) lahorenesis (Howard) and a coccinellid,
Serangium flavescens
(Motschulsky), which he had found in Pakistan. The cultures were lost due to the lack of suitable host stages
for reproduction. No attempts were
made to require these natural enemies until 1968 when E. lahorensis was introduced into California by DeBach
& Warner (1969). Additional
material was obtained from Florida, Hong Kong, India and Japan, which
resulted in the establishment of a Encarsia
sp. from India and a coccinellid Delphastus
pusillus (LeConte) from Florida
(Rose & DeBach 1981). Encarsia lahorensis was shown to be capable of rapid suppression of
D. citri being very efficient at low host densities. However, it was slow to disperse. The Encarsia
sp. from India, although less responsive to host density increases, possessed
superior dispersal qualities. Encarsia lahorensis was then established in Florida in 1977 (Sailer
et al. 1984). Complete biological
control was obtained. Substantial
biological control was reported in Italy where E. lahorensis
was established in 1975 (Viggiani & Battaglia 1983). This parasitoid was also established in
Sardinia, Corfu and Israel, but results were not reported (Kennett et al.
1999). In the Soviet Union E. lahorensis
failed to establish, but some biological control success was obtained with an
introduced parasitic fungus (Aschersonia
spp.) and the coccinellid Serangium
parcesetosa Sicard, from India
(Shenderovskaya 1976) (also see Morrill & Back 1911, and Clausen 1978).
REFERENCES:
DeBach, P. & S. C. Warner. 1969.
Research on biological control of whiteflies. Citrograph 54: 301-03.
Clausen, C. P. 1978. Aleyrodidae. In: C. P.
Clausen (ed.), Introduced Parasites and Predators of Arthropod Pests and
Weeds: a World Review. U. S. Dept. Agric., Agric. Handbk. No.
480: 545 p.
Kennett, C. E., J. A. McMurtry & J. W.
Beardsley. 1999. Biological control in subtropical and
tropical crops. In:
Bellows, T. S. & T. W. Fisher (eds.), Handbook of Biological Control:
Principles and Applications. Academic Press, San Diego, New York. 1046 p.
Mesbah, A. H., A. H. El-Heneidy, S. M. Metwally, Z. M. Shenishen
& H. S. Boraei.
1999a. Clitostethus arcuatus (Rossi)
(Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), a new recorded predator species, of the citrus
whitefly, Dialeurodes citri (Ashm.)
(Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) in Egypt. Scientific Note. Egypt. J. Biol. Pest Cont. 8(2): 99 –100.
Metwally, S. M., A. H. El-Heneidy, Z. M.
Shenishen & H. S. Boraei. 1999b.
Clitostethus arcuatus
(Rossi) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), a predator species, of the citrus
whitefly, Dialeurodes citri (Ashm.)
(Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) in Egypt.
Egypt. J. Biol. Pest Cont. 9 (2):
61-66.
Morrill, A. W. & E. A. Back. 1911.
White flies injurious to citrus in Florida. U. S. Dept. Agric., Bur. Ent. Bull. 92: 109 p.
Rose, M. & P. DeBach. 1981. Citrus whitefly
parasites established in California.
California Agriculture 35 (7-8):
21-3.
Sailer, R. I., R. E. Brown, B. Munir & J. C. E.
Nickerson. 1984. Dissemination of the citrus whitefly (Homoptera:
Aleyrodidae) parasite Encarsia
lahorensis (Howard)
(Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) and its effectiveness as a control agent in
Florida. Bull. Ent. Soc. Amer. 30
(2): 36-9.
Shenderovskaya, L. P. 1976. Introduced insect
enemies and microorganisms. Zasch. Rast. 3: 52-3.
Viggiani, G. & D. Battaglia. 1983. Experiments on the biological control of Dialeurodes citri (Ashm.) using Encarsia lahorensis (How.) at fruit-farm
level, and present status of the parasite in Campania and other areas. XIII Congresso Nazionale
Italiano di Ent. p. 181-89.
Woglum, R. S.
1913. Report of a trip to
India and the Orient in search of the natural enemies of the citrus white
fly. U. S. Dept. Agric. Bur. Ent.
Bul. 120: 58 p.
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