Bemisia tabaci MED (Q biotype) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) in Florida is on the move to residential landscapes and may impact open-field agriculture

Summary For the first time in the United States, Bemisia tabaci MED (Q biotype of B. tabaci [Gennadius]; Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) was detected outside of greenhouse or nursery environments when it was collected from 10 residential landscape and 2 open field environments in Florida. Bemisia tabaci MED was also detected in 8 wholesale nurseries from 4 counties and 17 retail nurseries from 8 counties in Florida. Hibiscus was the host plant driver for B. tabaci MED whitefly infestations in retail and wholesale nurseries and in Florida residential landscapes. One mint sample from a retail nursery contained a single New World whitefly and represents the first detection of New World B. tabaci in Florida since it was displaced by B. tabaci Middle Eastern Asia Minor 1 in the mid-1980s.