Habitat
Adults: terrestrial
Immatures: terrestrial

Feeding Habits
Adults: phytophagous
Immatures: phytophagous

North American
Species: 3 in Canada

Homoptera Aleyrodidae
Whiteflies

Special Characteristics: Whiteflies are very small insects that resemble tiny moths. The adults of both sexes are winged, and the wings are covered with a white dust or powder. The antennae are long and threadlike.

Comments: Members of this family are phytophagous, and some species are pest of citrus trees and greenhouse plants. The metamorphosis of these insects is different than most other Homoptera but similar to the superfamily Coccoidea. The first-instar immatures are active crawlers but later instars are inactive and covered by a scale-like waxy secretion.

Species:
Trialeurodes vaporariorum

Common Name:
Greenhouse whitefly

Feeding Habits: This species sucks juices out of various species of plants.

Distribution:
Widespread in Canada

Comments:
This species is a pest in greenhouses, where its numbers can build up very quickly. When the population is high enough the leaves of the plant become covered with white specks.