Incursion of Aleurotulus nephrolepidis in Germany
The NPPO of Germany informed the EPPO Secretariat about the first incursion of Aleurotulus nephrolepidis (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) in Germany. In October 2005, typical symptoms of whitefly were observed on fern trees in a botanical garden in Brandenburg. In April 2006, the whitefly was identified as Aleurotulus nephrolepidis. Beneficial arthropods have been released to control the infestation and plants are not allowed to move from the infested glasshouse. The origin of this infestation is unknown.
The pest status of Aleurotulus nephrolepidis in Germany is officially declared as follows: Present, single incursion; under eradication.
EPPO note: Little information is available from the literature on this whitefly species. However, Aleurotulus nephrolepidis is recorded on several fern species: Acrostichum capense, Anemia sp., Asplenium cuneatum, Blechnum brasiliense, B. occidentale, Cyclosorus dentatus, Diplazium proliferum, Dryopteris flaccida, Nephrodium confluens, Nephrolepis sp., Oleandra africana, O. articulata, Polystichum falcatum, Pteris biaurita, P. togoensis, Stenosema aurita, Tectaria molle. Its presence is reported in the following countries:
EPPO region: Netherlands (a population has been established on Nephrolepis in a botanical garden at Utrecht for more than 15 years), Portugal (Azores), Spain (Islas Canarias), United Kingdom (there is an old record of a population from Kew Gardens described as a new species, Aleuroplatus kewensis, later considered as a synonym of A. nephrolepidis; no recent data). An interception was made by UK in 1998 on plants for planting of Cyathea dregei imported from South Africa (EPPO RS 1998/077).
Africa: Madagascar.
America: Brazil, USA (California, Florida, Pennsylvania).
Sources
NPPO of Germany, 2006-07.
Jansen MGM, Loosman AJM (2004) An annotated list of whiteflies of the Netherlands (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae). Abstract of a paper presented at the 2nd European Whitefly Symposium (EWSII), 2004-10-05/09. Available on-line http://www.whitefly.org/ews/ewsii-AbsCompendium.pdf
Martin JH, Mifsud D, Rapisarda C (2000) The whiteflies (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) of Europe and the Mediterranean Basin. Bulletin of Entomological Research 90, 407-448.
Website - Whitefly fauna of the world – USDA-APHIS. http://www.lucidcentral.org/keys/v3/whitefly/Homepage.htm