Heres how to protect your plants from these damaging insects.
They are sap feeders, which use their piercing and sucking mouth parts to take plant juices.
Related toaphids, scales, andmealybugs, whiteflies can cause significant harm in greenhouses.
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But they also can wreak plenty of damage on garden and houseplants.
Some plants may not survive an infestation.
Outdoors, natural predators, such as lacewings and lady beetles, help keep whiteflies in check.
Identifying Whiteflies
Whiteflies go through egg, nymph, and adult stages.
You likely wont see their teeny eggs on the undersides of leaves.
Once hatched, the nymph stages are about 1/32-inch long and attach to the plant for feeding.
Although closely related to scales, they are not the same thing so properly identifying them is important.
The adult stage of whiteflies look like moths and are 1/16-inch long.
Their white coloration comes from a dusting of wax on their bodies, says Bertone.
Some species also transmit plant viruses.