The silverleaf whitefly species (previously called the sweetpotato whitefly B-strain) is a pest with a wider range of host crops than the sweetpotato whitefly (sometimes still referred to as the A-strain). For example, the silverleaf whitefly reproduces well on cabbage while the sweetpotato whitefly does not. Also, relatively low numbers of the silverleaf whitefly can cause striking plant disorders, such as silver leaf of squash and irregular ripening of tomatoes. Low numbers of the sweetpotato whitefly do not usually produce such noticeable direct damage. Crops that support large numbers of the silverleaf whitefly include cotton, cabbage and other cole crops, cucumber, squash, melons, tomatoes, eggplant, sesame, soybean, okra, beans, peanuts, and many ornamentals, including poinsettia, hibiscus, lantana, verbena, garden mum, Gerber daisies, and mandevilla.
Crops grown in spring and summer (Texas) and winter (Florida, California) and crops planted in large acreages, such as cotton, may produce very large whitefly populations. As cotton is defoliated, whiteflies are forced to move in search of new hosts and can then occur in higher numbers on a wider range of host plants than normal. For example, the sweetpotato whitefly migrations from the cotton crop in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas in the summer of 1991 resulted in a dramatic increase in whitefly numbers in some citrus orchards, which typically do not have problems with this pest. Similarly, other susceptible crops will become sources of migrating whiteflies as they senescence or dry down. Susceptible crops grown in greenhouses or other protected areas that maintain warm temperatures throughout the year may have whitefly outbreaks year-round.