Cardin's Whitefly

Cardin’s Whitefly [Metaleurodicus cardini (Back)]. 

Surveys for this whitefly continued in the Hilo area, where it was generally found at low levels.  Occasionally, it was observed in moderate numbers at different sites, although never becoming a problem due to the presence of predacious ladybugs and parasitic wasps. It has yet to be detected on any of the other islands. To date, it has not shown itself to be a significant pest on any ornamental plants or crops.  Ornamental hosts identified so far include plumeria (Plumeria spp.), fiddlewood (Citharexylum spinosum), and golden dewdrop (Duranta erecta). Fiddlewood seems to be a preferred host, just as it is for the giant whitefly. On crops, it was detected on common guava (Psidium guajava), but densities observed in the Panaewa area were too low to have any effect on guava production. Citrus is the only other known crop host, but this whitefly has not yet been found on this plant in Hawaii. 

It appears that this whitefly is under good biological control by the coccinellids Halmus chalybeus (Boisduval) and Nephaspis spp. and the parasitoid Encarsia hispida De Santis, as they suppress the densities of the whitefly nymphs. Survey counts of whitefly nymphs this year indicated that the giant whitefly was much more common wherever M. cardini had occurred previously.