Bemisia tabaci ( Gennadius, 1889 )

Martin, Jon H. & Camus, Josephine M., 2001, Whiteflies (Sternorrhyncha, Aleyrodidae) colonising ferns (Pteridophyta: Filicopsida), with descriptions of two new Trialeurodes and one new Metabemisia species from south­east Asia, Zootaxa 2, pp. 1-19 : 14

Species­group of Bemisia tabaci ( Gennadius, 1889)

DISTRIBUTION. Cosmopolitan, but only under cover in cooler temperate areas.

HOST PLANTS. Filicopsida ­ Gleicheniaceae : Dicranopteris ? linearis; also highly polyphagous on Angiospermae.

COMMENTS. We ae only aware of a single record of this major pest species­group from a fern, and it concerns just two puparial specimens collected in the Genting Highlands, peninsular Malaysia (BMNH), on a fern species that rapidly colonises newly cleared land in the tropics. The vasiform orifice is a little broader than is typical for B. tabaci , but the geminate pore/porette distribution and stout caudal setae indicate inclusion in this important species­group.