Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius, 1889) Slide

Gill, Raymond, 2012, A preliminary report on the World species of Bemisia Quaintance and Baker and its congeners (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) with a comparative analysis of morphological variation and its role in the recognition of species Raymond Gill, Insecta Mundi 2012 (219), pp. 1-99 : 2

B. tabaci , B. argentifolii , other morphologically inseparable populations of “ tabaci ”, and the very similar species B. formosana Takahashi and B. graminus David and Winstone. At that time,

analysis also suggested a possible Old World origin for B. argentifolii (strain B) and possibly a

New World origin for B. tabaci (strain A).

As research continued into the taxonomic issues of B. tabaci , it was discovered that there was a significant amount of molecular variation that occurred in otherwise morphologically identical forms

(reviewed in Brown, 2010 and Gill and Brown, 2010). Also, as a result of conferences and action committee meetings convened to address the economic effects of B. tabaci sensu lato, a project was started that would attempt to clarify the morphological issues of the genus Bemisia in general, and B.

tabaci specifically.

First, however, it is advisable to cover some pertinent points regarding whitefly morphology and taxonomy.