EPPO Bulletin (2019) 49, 127-131

D.E. Kapantaidaki, S. Antonatos, D. Kontodimas, P. Milonas and D.P. Papachristos (2019)
Presence of the invasive whitefly Aleurocanthus spiniferus (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) in Greece
EPPO Bulletin 49 (1), 127-131
Abstract: Aleurocanthus spiniferus (Quaintance) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), commonly known as the citrus (or orange) spiny whitefly, is an important pest of various economic crops such as citrus and tea and causes severe economic losses. It is reported for the first time in Greece, in the island of Corfu (North-West Greece) on sweet orange trees (Citrus sinensis). Morphological and molecular data has been used for species identification. Sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene from Greek populations have been compared with sequences of the species from Italy and Montenegro, as well as with COI sequences retrieved from GenBank, to examine the genetic diversity of the species. Based on the preliminary results, it appears that the population from Corfu probably arose through several independent introductions.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Spyridon A. Antonatos, Dimitris C. Kontodimas, Panagiotis G. Milonas, Dimitrios P. Papachristos

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
surveys/sampling/distribution
new introduction of pest

---

Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Aleurocanthus spiniferus		Greece