Tea-infesting population of the citrus spiny whitefly, Aleurocanthus spiniferus (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae), does not accept citrus leaves as host plants

Abstract

The first observation that the citrus spiny whitefly, Aleurocanthus spiniferus, which is a pest of citrus plants, attacked the tea plant Camellia sinensis in Japan was made in August 2004. We investigated the host plant suitability of three plant species, Ca. sinensis, Ca. sasanqua, and Citrus unshiu, for tea-infesting and citrus-infesting populations of A. spiniferus. Adult females of the citrus-infesting population laid no eggs on Ca. sinensis leaves. In the tea-infesting population, adult females laid a few eggs on Ci. unshiu leaves, but no nymphs settled on Ci. unshiu leaves. These results suggest that the Japanese tea-infesting population was derived from the reported Chinese or Taiwanese tea-infesting population, rather than from a Japanese citrus-infesting population. The host plant suitability of Ca. sasanqua for the tea-infesting population was equivalent to that of Ca. sinensis. Accordingly, the tea-infesting population of A. spiniferus might harm species closely related to Ca. sinensis, such as Ca. sasanqua.