Dialeurodes kirkaldyi (Kotinsky), a Whitefly New to the United States (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae)

Abstract

Dialeurodes kirkaldyi (Kotinsky) was first collected in North America at the U. S. Naval Base, Key West, Fla., 8 November 1962, on Morinda citrifolia, by J. A. Knowles of the Florida Department of Agriculture. The presence of kirkaldyi on the original host tree was noted again in April 1963, and in May a survey for the species was made by personnel of the Plant Pest Control Division, Agricultural Research Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture. Starting at the original location on the Naval Base, the inspectors collected in and northward from the Key West area. It was soon determined that kirkaldyi occurred in various locations as far north as Broward County, north of Miami, Dade County. The insect was found commonly only on Morinda citrifolia, the Indian mulberry, and on various species of Jasminum. Although kirkaldyi was not found on citrus, the presence of the aleyrodid in a citrus-producing state is somewhat alarming because citrus serves as a host of the species in the Pacific islands. Although kirkaldyi is newly discovered in the United States, it has been known in the New World for 51 years. Material in the collection of the U. S. National Museum was received from British Guiana in 1913; and it was intercepted by federal or state quarantine inspectors, from Jamaica at New York in 1937, from Trinidad at New York in 1938, and from Cuba at Key West in 1958. The species was described from Hawaii by Kotinsky (1907) as Aleyrodes kirkaldyi, and was transferred to Dialeurodes by Quaintance and Baker (1914). It has been redescribed and/or illustrated by Quaintance and Baker (1917), Priesner and Hosny (1934), Corbett (1935), Zimmerman (1948), and Takahashi (1956). The insect frequently is abundant, literally covering the leaves of Morinda citrifolia and Jasminum spp. Concerning kirkaldyi, Zimmerman (p. 46) stated, Heavy infestations on Morinda citrifolia (noni) cause a crinkling of the leaves and dulling or browning of their color so that the plants have a generally unhealthy appearance. He (p. 45) also stated that the insects were attacked by unidentified hyme-nopterous parasites. Most of the collections I have examined, including those from British Guiana and the Caribbean, have contained parasitized pupae, but none of the numerous specimens observed from Florida were parasitized. D. kirkaldyi is here recorded from plants of 17 genera belonging to 10 families and from one host identified only by a common name. The hosts and distribution of the aleyrodid, based on my determinations of specimens in the collection of the U. S. National Museum unless followed by the reporter's name, are given below. HOSTS: Allamanda neriifolia, Beaumontia grandiflora (Kotinsky), bell flower (from India), Citrus sinensis, Coffea sp., Fagraea fragrans (Corbett), Gardenia sp., G. tahitiensis, Hiptage mandablota, Jasminum