whitefly
noun
white·fly
| \ ˈhwīt-ˌflī
, ˈwīt-\
, ˈwīt-\
Definition of whitefly
: any of numerous small homopterous insects (family Aleyrodidae) that are injurious plant pests
Examples of whitefly in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The more tenacious pest is whitefly, and the options for dealing with this range from biological controls that include ordering parasitic wasps to heavy-duty systemic pesticides, with the risk of harm to beneficial insects. — Adrian Higgins, Washington Post, "The sultry plant that will break your heart," 13 Aug. 2019 Flying ant is looking for a mate, not a free meal Q: So far this year, there’s been no whitefly or mites in my greenhouse like last year. — oregonlive.com, "Ask an Expert: Insect traveling through greenhouse is ‘looking for love’ won’t damage plants," 12 July 2019 Pests controlled: Use horticultural oils to combat aphids, mites, beetles, leaf miners, caterpillars, thrips, leafhoppers, and whiteflies. — The Editors Of Organic Life, Good Housekeeping, "The 7 Best Organic Pest Control Techniques For Your Garden," 18 Dec. 2017 Flea beetles and whiteflies can attack, especially if the plants are drought-stressed. — The Editors, Good Housekeeping, "How to Grow Hundreds of Ground Cherries," 31 July 2018 White traps lure whiteflies, plant bugs, cucumber beetles, and flea beetles. — The Editors Of Organic Life, Good Housekeeping, "The 7 Best Organic Pest Control Techniques For Your Garden," 18 Dec. 2017 All parts of the plant can be toxic if ingested –– except, alas, for such pests as cabbage worms, spider mites, aphids and whiteflies. — R. Daniel Foster, latimes.com, "What a showoff: Ghostly Brugmansia delivers spectacular garden blooms," 22 June 2018 Figs are really cool plants with a slightly bad rep in South Florida in part because of overuse of Ficus benjamina hedges and their unwieldy roots and problems with whitefly and scale. — Kenneth Setzer, miamiherald, "Houseplant advice for the millennial (or anyone) who doesn’t have a green thumb," 11 July 2018 Wasps are notorious predators of agricultural pests, including whiteflies, aphids, moths, beetles and plant lice. — Katherine J. Wu, Smithsonian, "Five Real Life Wasp Superpowers Not in Ant-Man and the Wasp," 22 Mar. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'whitefly.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more