Aleurotulus nephrolepidis ( Quaintance, 1900 )

Martin, Jon H. & Camus, Josephine M., 2001, Whiteflies (Sternorrhyncha, Aleyrodidae) colonising ferns (Pteridophyta: Filicopsida), with descriptions of two new Trialeurodes and one new Metabemisia species from south­east Asia, Zootaxa 2, pp. 1-19 : 13

Aleurotulus nephrolepidis ( Quaintance, 1900)

DISTRIBUTION. Wide and disjunct distribution, often under glass in countries with an unsuitable climate. Almost certainly a native of the Neotropics.

HOST PLANTS. Aspleniacae: Asplenium cuneatum , A. daucifolium , A. proliferum , Asplenium sp; Blechnaceae : Blechnum brasiliensis , B. occidentale , B. spicant ; Cyatheaceae : Alsophila dregei ; Dryopteridaceae : Ctenitis grandis , Cyrtomium falcatum ,? Dryopteris sp., Rumohra adiantiformis , Tectaria aurita , T. confluens ; Nephrolepidaceae : Nephrolepis sp.; Oleandraceae : Oleandra africana , O. articulata ; Pteridaceae : Pteris biaurita , P. togoensis , Pteris sp.; Schizaeaceae : Anemia sp.; Thelypteridaceae : Christella dentata , Metathelypteris flaccida ;?family: " Acrostichum capense " [an untraceable name].

COMMENTS. This, the most often encountered of the fern­feeding whitefly species, is frequently found colonising a wide variety of ferns, and is occasionally regarded as a minor pest in the glasshouses of botanic gardens.