Aspects of the developmental biology of red-banded whitefly that have been determined in the laboratory are shown in Table 1. Top Table 1. Aspects of the biology of Tetraleurodes perseae reared on excised Hass avocado leaves at 25 o C in the laboratory. In the U.S.A., T. perseae has only been recorded from avocados in California. Other host plants in addition to avocado that may support populations of T. perseae in California have not been identified.
Whiteflies are efficient vectors of viral diseases.
Presently, T. perseae does not appear to be involved in the transmission of disease probably because of a lack of viruses infecting avocados in California. Increasing movement of avocado plants and fruit between California and Central America through both legal and illegal channels increases the likelihood of new viral diseases establishing in California. If new avocado viral diseases do establish, T. perseae maybe an efficient and widespread disease vector. Substantially more laboratory and fieldwork is needed to improve our understanding of how T. perseae and its natural enemies function in California avocado orchards. Overland Ave, Bldg 4, San Deigo, CA 92123, phone no.