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THE WHITEFLY PEST ALERT A new exotic pest called the whitefly has been found in Miami-Dade county. This whitefly has been attacking ficus hedges and trees. The trees and hedges that have become denuded are blaring signs of the whitefly infestation.
... according to the Florida Division of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Plant Industry. Currently published on their website www.doacs.state.fl.us/pi/enpp/ento/exoticsinflorida.html is an article about the "Exotic Invasion of Florida" reporting that almost every month a new exotic arthropod is found in our state. According to the University of Florida Invasive Species Coordinating Council, they estimate that "invasive species cost the United States nearly $120 billion per year".
What is this Whitefly? The Fig Whitefly Singhiella simplex (Singh) originated from Burma, China and India. The adult whitefly is yellow in color and its wings are white with a faint gray band near the middle of the wings. They are so small in size that when you shake an infested branch, a small cloud of tiny gnat-like whiteflies will start flying out from the foliage. The whiteflies are found on the underside of the leaves and pierce the plant with their "needle-like" mouth parts and suck juices from the plant. The leaves will start to yellow, then brown and eventually drop off the plant and could cause death. As the photos on this page show, a ficus tree or hedge infested with whitefly can become completely defoliated.
The Outbreak The amazing thing about this new pest to South Florida is the speed with which they are moving. The earliest sample of the Whitefly was collected and identified in August 2007. That's just a few months ago! At first, they were reported in the Coral Gables area and along the Miami River. We have been servicing Miami Beach and the Gables for the whitefly but are now getting calls from Hialeah and the Doral area.
Servicing Your Ficus If you have any ficus on your property or your neighbor’s property that are turning yellow, dropping their leaves, and leaving bare branches, we would be more than glad to service your property to help stop this epidemic, if we catch it in time. Please call our office at 305.246-1889 or email us at bugs@easternexterminating.com so we can schedule a crew to come service your property.
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Adult fig Whitefly - Photo below courtesy:
Severe defoliation of ficus hedge caused by
Photo: Eastern Exterminating
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