Since its introduction in 2016, the invasive whitefly species, rugose spiralling whitefly (RSW), Aleurodicus rugioperculatus Martin has become a key pest of oil palm in India; However, the infestation is severe in coconut. This study, for the first time, revealed the biological attributes of RSW on oil palm recording a developmental period (egg to adult) of 38 ± 2.36 days. The total life cycle (including adult survival) was 56.73 ± 2.87 days. Morphometric traits were similar for oil palm and coconut, except in the 4th instar and male adult. Comparative survival of RSW life stages revealed maximum mortality during adult eclosion on all studied hosts. Post hoc comparisons showed that adult emergence was highest on custard apple (0.978 ± 0.06) and ramphal (0.962 ± 0.07), followed by guava (0.872 ± 0.10). Coconut (0.707 ± 0.12) and oil palm (0.765 ± 0.13) showed lower emergence rates. Field observations across eight hosts recorded the lowest adult emergence (8.4 ± 2.6) in oil palm. Overall, oil palm was a medium-preferred host after coconut while guava, custard apple and ramphal were highly preferred. The practical applications of these findings in the ecological engineering of oil palm plantation for sustainable management of RSW are discussed.