Cabbage whitefly

Cabbage whitefly
Aleyrodes proletella with eggs on Kale
Scientific Classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hemiptera
Suborder:	Homoptera
Family:	Aleyrodidae
Genus:	Aleyrodes
Species:	Aleyrodes proletella
Risk period
J F M A M J J A S O N D
Synonyms
Aleyrodes brassicae Walker

"Whitefly" redirects here. For other uses, see Whitefly (disambiguation).

Cabbage Whitefly (Aleyrodes proletella) typically feed on brassicas (mainly Brussels sprouts and kale).

Identifying Features

White-winged insects, 1.5mm long, fly up in clouds from the underside of brassica leaves when disturbed. Flat, oval, whitish-green scale-like nymphs are attached to the lower leaf surface. Black or greenish-grey sooty moulds can develop on the upper leaf surface on the sticky honeydew excreted by this pest.

Treatment

It is difficult to treat most brassica as their leaves are waxy and sprays do not stick. However, Whitefly do not do any real damage to the plants with the exception of young kale. Edible parts of cabbage, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower are not seriously affected. If whitefly is a problem, use deltamethrin or lambda cyhalothrin.

Prevention

Netting your brassica with a fine mesh will stop these pests gaining access to your plants and is advisable to stop more destructive pests such as Cabbage White butterflies.

Examples

Mould caused by Cabbage Whitefly visible on the top of a cabbage leaf

Adults, eggs and puppae on a cabbage leaf

Eggs on a tomato leaf

See Also

• Greenhouse Whitefly