Apparent Parasitism ofBemisia argentifolii(Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) by Aphelinidae (Hymenoptera) on Vegetable Crops and Associated Weeds in South Florida

Apparent parasitism of silverleaf whitefly,Bemisia argentifoliiBellows & Perring, byEncarsiaspp. andEretmocerusspp. was surveyed on several crop and weed species in southern Florida from 1990 to 1995. Apparent parasitism levels varied between crops, seasons, and years, but generally were high on okra and cotton among crops, lantana and Spanish needles among weeds.E. pergandiellaHoward was the most dominant parasitoid species (43.7–100%), whereas incidence ofE. transvena(Timberlake),E. nigricephalaDozier,E. quaintanceiHoward, andEretmocerusnr.californicusHoward varied by host plant and location. A greater proportion ofB. argentifoliiwas parasitized byE. pergandiellaon tomato than on collard and eggplant in a greenhouse choice test.