Host plants of invasive whiteflies - Rugose spiralling whitefly, Aleurodicus rugioperculatus martin and bondar's nesting whitefly, Paraleyrodes bondari peracchi

Coconut tree is infested by various insect pests throughout the year. Among the array of coconut pests, the sucking pests, notably invasive whiteflies, present a significant threat to coconut yield. The Rugose spiralling whitefly (RSW), Aleurodicus rugioperculatus Martin and Bondar's nesting whitefly (BNW), Paraleyrodes bondari Peracchi, have inflicted significant damage across the major coconut-growing districts of Tamil Nadu since 2016 and 2018, respectively. These two are invasive pests that are polyphagous in nature. In its native habitat, it mostly attacks coconut trees and other broad-leaved hosts, but now its widening host range includes economic and horticultural crops as well as weed populations posing a significant threat to the farming community Between December 2020 and October 2021, an extensive survey was conducted at fortnightly intervals in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu, namely Thoothukudi, Tenkasi, Tirunelveli, and Kanyakumari. The survey aimed to examine the expanding host range of RSW and BNW, revealed the presence of A. rugioperculatus in 46 host plants across 25 families and P. bondari in 25 host plants across 19 families, which included plantation crops, fruits, vegetables, spices, tubers, tree species, ornamental plants, and weed plants.