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Fig whitefly

Singhiella simplex

Fig. 1. Singhiella simplex adult female (left), with a dark yellow body and faint greyish bands on the wings, and

mature fourth-larval instar or puparium (right), with conspicuous red eye spots, on Ficus © Fera

Singhiella simplex (Singh, 1931) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), is an Asian species that feeds exclusively

on figs, causing damage to plants both directly by its feeding and indirectly due to the associated

sooty moulds growing on honeydew excreted by the larval stages. It is commonly known as ‘fig

whitefly’ or ‘mosca blanca del ficus’ in Spanish. It was originally described from specimens collected

from Ficus bengalensis in Pusa, India and has recently been introduced to North and South America,

the Caribbean and Israel. It can cause complete defoliation and dieback of branches of ornamental

figs. The literature pertaining to this whitefly was recently reviewed by Kondo & Evans (2013) and

much of the information in this fact sheet is based on their work.

Geographical distribution

Singhiella simplex is native to Southeast Asia and has recently been introduced to the Americas and

the Mediterranean.

Asia: Burma; China; India (Evans, 2008).

North America: USA (California, Florida, 2007) (Mannion et al., 2008, Mannion, 2010).

South America: Brazil (Velasco et al., 2011; Colombia (Kondo & Evans, 1913).

Caribbean: Cayman Islands; Jamaica; Puerto Rico (Kondo & Evans, 2013).

Palearctic: Israel (2013) (Kondo & Evans, 2013).

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Fig. 2 Singhiella simplex eggs © Fera Fig. 3 Singhiella simplex first instar © Fera

Fig. 4 Singhiella simplex second instar © Fera Fig. 5 Singhiella simplex fourth-larval instar or

puparium © Fera

Fig. 6 Singhiella simplex adult emerging from pupal

case © Fera

Fig. 7. Singhiella simplex empty pupal case © Fera

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Fig. 8 Singhiella simplex pupal cases on Ficus © Fera Fig. 9 Singhiella simplex adult female laying eggs ©

Fera

Fig. 10 Ficus binnendijkii leaf infested with Singhiella simplex showing sooty mould growing on excreted honey

dew © Fera

Fig. 11 Ficus hedge in Florida defoliated by Singhiella simplex © 2011 JP Miller & Sons Services

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Fig. 12 Singhiella simplex parasitized puparium ©

Fera

Fig. 13 Singhiella simplex puparium with parasitoid

wasp emergence hole © Fera

Fig. 14 Singhiella citrifolii pupal case © Fera Fig. 15 Dialeurodes citri puparium © Fera

Fig. 16 Bemisia tabaci puparium © Fera Fig. 17 Trialeurodes vaporariorum puparium © Fera

Host plants

Singhiella simplex is oligophagous on Ficus, and exhibits a preference for weeping fig F. benjamina. It

has also been recorded on Rhododendron indica (L.) Sweet. (Ericaceae) but this needs confirmation.

Moraceaea: F. aurea Nutt (strangler fig), F. altissima Blume (council tree), F. bengalensis L.

(Indian banyan), F. benjamina L. (weeping fig), F. binnendijkii (long leaf or sabre fig) (new

host plant), F. lyrata Warb. (fiddle-leaf fig), F. microcarpa L. (Cuban laurel), F. maclellandii

King (banana-leaf fig) and F. racemosa L. [= F. glomerata Roxb.] (Kondo & Evans, 2013).

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Description

The adult whiteflies (1.4-1.6 mm) are a deep yellow with conspicuous red eyes (Figs 1 and 9). Their

wings are cream-coloured with faint grey bands on each wing (Figs 1 and 9), which are easily visible

with a x10 hand lens. The adults are very active and readily fly when disturbed. The eggs are ‘kidney’

shaped in lateral view, yellow to light brown, and attached to the host plant by a thin stalk (Fig. 2).

The eggs are laid in dense groups, mostly adjacent to the mid vein and near the base of the leaf. The

first, second and third larval instars are almost translucent and difficult to spot (Figs. 3-4). The

puparia (1.3 mm long and 1.0 mm aide) (Figs 1 and 5-8) are oval, translucent to pale yellow, with the

adult red eye spots becoming conspicuous with maturity (Figs 1 and 5). One unusual feature is that

the eggs and larval stages occur on both the lower and upper surfaces of the foliage (the larval

stages of most whitefly species only occur on the lower surface).

Several other whitefly species may also be found on Ficus in the Mediterranean but none in such

large populations or with adults with the characteristic grey bands on their forewings (Fig. 1):

Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (tobacco or sweet potato whitefly) (Fig. 16), Dialeurodes citri (Ashmead)

(citrus whitefly) (Fig. 15), Singhiella citrifolii (Morgan) (cloudy-winged whitefly) (Fig. 14) and

Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westwood) (glasshouse whitefly) (Fig. 17).

Pest biology, dispersal and detection

All whiteflies have six developmental stages: egg; four larval stages, the fourth larval stage being

known as the puparium; and the adult. The biology of Singhiella simplex has been recently studied

by Legaspi et al. (2011). The total duration of the immature stages varies from 97.1 days at 15°C to

25.2 days at 30°C the adults live 8 days at 15°C, 4.2 days at 25°C, and 2.5 days at 30°C. A large

number of natural enemies have been recorded for S. simplex including: the parasitoids Encarsia

tricolor Foerster (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) (Evans, 2008; Hodges, 2007), Encarsia protransvena

Viggiani and Amitus bennetti Viggiani & Evans (Platygastridae); the lacewing predators Chrysopa spp.

(Neuroptera: Chrysopidae): and the ladybird predators Harmonia axyridis (Pallas) (Coleoptera:

Coccinellidae), Olla-v-nigrum (Mulsant), Exochomus children Mulsant, Chilocorus nigritis (F.), and

Curinus coeruleus (Mulsant) (Mannion, 2010). Various enzootic pathogenic fungi have also been

isolated from S. simplex in Florida, namely Isaria fumosorosea Wize, Paecilomyces lilacinus Thorn

(Samson), and Lecanicillium sp., Fusarium sp., and Aspergillus sp. (Avery et al., 2011).

Adult whiteflies are winged and capable of flight, but they are poor fliers and natural dispersal is

limited. The eggs and larvae may be distributed over long distances in plant trade.

Infestations of S. simplex are likely to be easy to detect since severely infested Ficus plants shed

many of their leaves and appear defoliated (Fig. 11). They also exhibit significant chlorosis (yellowing

of the leaves) and the leaves may be spotted with black sooty mould growing on the excreted

honeydew (Fig. 10). There may also be small clouds of tiny white, gnat-like adult whiteflies flying

from the foliage which are easily observed when branches of infested plants are shaken.

Economic importance and damage

Singhiella simplex is an economic pest of Ficus spp. in the USA (Florida), India, Brazil and Israel

(Kondo & Evans, 2013). Feeding by the whitefly causes yellowing of leaves, severe defoliation and

branch dieback, and high populations are able to stunt the growth of young trees. The impact in the

Mediterranean is potentially large due to the abundance of Ficus as ornamental plants. However, it

is important to note that there are no published records of the whitefly attacking the common fig

Ficus carica L.

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References

Avery, P. B., C. M. Mannion, C. A. Powell, C. L. McKenzie & L. S. Osborne. 2011. Natural enemies

managing the invasion of the fig whitefly, Singhiella simplex (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), infesting

a Ficus benjamina Hedge. Florida Entomologist 94 (3): 696-698.

Kondo, T. & Evans, G. A. 2013. Singhiella simplex (Singh) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), a new aleyrodid

invasive species for Colombia. Boletín del Museo de Entomología de la Universidad del Valle 13

(2): 31-33.

Evans G. A. 2008. The whiteflies (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) of the world and their host plants and

natural enemies. USDA/Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Last Revised:

September 23, 2008, 703 pp.

Hodges, G. 2007. The fig whitefly Singhiella simplex (Singh) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae): a new exotic

whitefly found on Ficus species in south Florida. Division of Plant Industry, Florida Department

of Agriculture and Consumer Services, http://www.freshfromflorida.com/pi/pest-

alerts/singhiella-simplex.html (accessed on 12/10/2014).

Legaspi, J. S., C. Mannion, D. Amalin & B. C. Legaspi Jr. 2011. Life table analysis and development of

Singhiella simplex (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) under different constant temperatures. Annals of

the Entomological Society of America 104 (3): 451-458.

Mannion, C. 2010. Whiteflies in the landscape. University of Florida, IFAS Extension Bulletin, Nov.,

2010.

http://trec.ifas.ufl.edu/mannion/pdfs/Whitefly%20in%20the%20Landscape%20%20Nov2010.pd

f (accessed on 12/10/2014).

Mannion, C., L. Osborne, A. Hunsberger, H. Mayer & G. Hodges. 2008. Ficus whitefly: A new pest in

South Florida. University of Florida, IFAS Extension Bulletin, August 2008. http://miami-

dade.ifas.ufl.edu/Pests_HT.shtml (accessed on 12/10/2014).

Velasco, G. D. N., R.G. Moura, E. Berti Filho & H. T. Z. do Couto. 2011. Avaliaҫão da infestaҫão por

Singhiella simplex (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) em Ficus benjamina no município de São Paulo, SP,

Brasil. Revista de Agricultura, 86 (2): 134-131.

Singh, K. 1931. A contribution towards our knowledge of the Aleyrodidae (Whiteflies) of India.

Memoirs of the Department of Agriculture in India, 12: 1-98.

Author: Chris Malumphy

Address: The Food and Environment Research Agency, Sand Hutton, York, YO41 1LZ, UK. Email:

chris.malumphy@fera.gsi.gov.uk

Date: 23/10/2014 Version 2