Latest News - Insects Found Attacking Ficus Whitefly Pest

Damage by other landscape-attacking insects pales in comparison to this new invader.  The ficus whitefly arrived in the Miami Rover area in late 2007.  It was confirmed in Naples for the first time in January 2009 at several addresses in the Shirley Street area. 

In an email on October 9. 2007, Miami-Dade County Extension Educator, Adrian Hunsberger observed, "This whitefly is causing complete defoliation of Ficus benjamina, including mature trees.  Almost all of the ficus in a 4 mile area (if not a larger area) are dropping their leaves.  This is the most devastating pest I have seen and is quickly spreading!"  These whiteflies pose a lethal threat to the many local ficus hedges.  If this insect itself isn't lethal, once the ficus hedges start to flush out after a whitefly attach, the ficus thrips move in and curl the leaves like a pea pod causing more leaf drop.

Typically when an out-of-country insect pest arrives, it doesn't show up with its native complex of parasites and predators which keep the populations from swelling into damaging outbreak proportions.  Usually, there are some native biologicals which will fill in the gap.  Or the U.S. Department of Agriculture searches out attach insects from the pest's place of origin (Burma, China and India) which can be released after a period of testing to make sure the attach insects won't become a nuisance.  To date, field investigators have found five lady beetle species, 2 parasitic wasps and green lacewings attacking the whitefly in Florida.
 

For more information on the Ficus Whitefly  – Call A1 Super Heroes at

(954) 255-2233 to speak to one of our professionals.