| Brachycaudus cardui | |
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| Species: | B. cardui |
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| Brachycaudus cardui | |
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Brachycaudus cardui is a species of aphid, commonly known as the thistle aphid or the plum-thistle aphid. It infests trees in the genus Prunus in the spring and autumn, and mostly plants in the aster family in the summer.
The viviparous wingless females of B. cardui have an oval or pear-shaped body and grow to a length of from 1.8 to 2.5 mm (0.07 to 0.10 in). The colour may be green, yellowish, reddish or brown. The abdomen has a dark, shining patch on the dorsal surface, a fact which distinguishes this species from the otherwise similar plum leaf curl aphid ( Brachycaudus helichrysi ). [2] Nymphs often have pinkish blotches on a dark green background. [3]
B. cardui has a wide distribution in Europe, Asia, North Africa and North America. [3]
The primary host of B. cardui is plum, cherry, apricot, peach or damson, but during the summer months it moves to a secondary host. This is often a thistle in the genera Carduus or Cirsium where it is commonly seen on the stems and flowerheads. [1] Alternatively, other plants in the aster family or plants in the borage family (Boraginaceae) may be used as secondary hosts. Winged individuals fly back to the primary hosts in the autumn. [3]
Colonies of B. cardui are usually attended by ants which feed on the honeydew the aphids produce and drive away predators. Researchers found that in a damp meadow which contained ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris) but no ants, although winged B. cardui arrived at the site, they failed to establish colonies despite an abundance of the host plant. In an experimental habitat, colonies of B. cardui on J. vulgaris flourished when ants were present but died out if ants were excluded. [4]
Infestation with B. cardui causes the margins of affected leaves to roll up. [2] This aphid is a vector of plum pox, a serious viral disease affecting plums, damsons, peaches, apricots and some other plants. [2]
Aphids are small sap-sucking insects and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in colour. The group includes the fluffy white woolly aphids. A typical life cycle involves flightless females giving living birth to female nymphs—whom may also be already pregnant, an adaptation scientists call telescopic development—without the involvement of males. Maturing rapidly, females breed profusely so that the number of these insects multiplies quickly. Winged females may develop later in the season, allowing the insects to colonise new plants. In temperate regions, a phase of sexual reproduction occurs in the autumn, with the insects often overwintering as eggs.
Prunus armeniaca, the most commonly cultivated apricot species, also called ansu apricot, Siberian apricot, Tibetan apricot, is a species of Prunus, classified with the plum in the subgenus Prunus. The native range is somewhat uncertain due to its extensive prehistoric cultivation, though almost certainly somewhere in Asia. It is extensively cultivated in many countries and has escaped into the wild in many places.
Carduus is a genus of flowering plants in the aster family, Asteraceae, and the tribe Cynareae, one of two genera considered to be true thistles, the other being Cirsium. Plants of the genus are known commonly as plumeless thistles. They are native to Eurasia and Africa, and several are known elsewhere as introduced species. This genus is noted for its disproportionately high number of noxious weeds compared to other flowering plant genera.
Plum pox, also known as sharka, is the most devastating viral disease of stone fruit from the genus Prunus. The disease is caused by the plum pox virus (PPV), and the different strains may infect a variety of stone fruit species including peaches, apricots, plums, nectarine, almonds, and sweet and tart cherries. Wild and ornamental species of Prunus may also become infected by some strains of the virus.
Lepidosaphes ulmi also known as apple mussel scale or oystershell scale is a scale insect that is a pest of trees and woody plants. The small insects attach themselves to bark and cause injury by sucking the tree's sap; this metabolic drain on the plant may kill a branch or the entire tree.
Carduus pycnocephalus, with common names including Italian thistle, Italian plumeless thistle, and Plymouth thistle, is a species of thistle. It is native to: the Mediterranean region in southern Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia; East Europe and the Caucasus; and the Indian Subcontinent.
Myzus persicae, known as the green peach aphid or the peach-potato aphid, is a small green aphid. It is the most significant aphid pest of peach trees, causing decreased growth, shrivelling of the leaves and the death of various tissues. It is also acts as a vector for the transport of plant viruses such as cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), potato virus Y (PVY) and tobacco etch virus (TEV). Potato virus Y and potato leafroll virus can be passed to members of the nightshade/potato family (Solanaceae), and various mosaic viruses to many other food crops.
Macrosiphum rosae, the rose aphid, is a species of sap-sucking insect in the family Aphididae. It infests rosebushes as its main host in spring and early summer, congregating on the tips of shoots and around new buds. Later in the summer, winged forms move to other rose bushes, or to a limited number of secondary hosts, before returning to rosebushes to lay eggs in the autumn.
The black bean aphid is a small black insect in the genus Aphis, with a broad, soft body, a member of the order Hemiptera. Other common names include blackfly, bean aphid, and beet leaf aphid. In the warmer months of the year, it is found in large numbers on the undersides of leaves and on the growing tips of host plants, including various agricultural crops and many wild and ornamental plants. Both winged and wingless forms exist, and at this time of year, they are all females. They suck sap from stems and leaves and cause distortion of the shoots, stunted plants, reduced yield, and spoiled crops. This aphid also acts as a vector for viruses that cause plant disease, and the honeydew it secretes may encourage the growth of sooty mould. It breeds profusely by live birth, but its numbers are kept in check, especially in the later part of the summer, by various predatory and parasitic insects. Ants feed on the honeydew it produces, and take active steps to remove the aphid's enemies. It is a widely distributed pest of agricultural crops and can be controlled by chemical or biological means. In the autumn, winged forms move to different host plants, where both males and females are produced. These mate and the females lay eggs which overwinter.
Pemphigus betae, also known as the sugarbeet root aphid, is a species of gall-forming aphid that forms galls specifically on the commonly found narrowleaf cottonwood, Populus angustifolia. Sugarbeet root aphids have been found in North America and Europe. They infect sugarbeets, but also other plants like tablebeets and Swiss chard. Their size has been likened to that of a pinhead, and are pale white-yellow in color. Sugarbeet root aphids have soft bodies that are bulbous in shape, with mandibular parts that can pierce and suck and paired abdominal tubes that point backwards, and come in both winged and wingless forms. They are known for their consequential effects on agriculture due to infestation of plants, and efforts to control the pests have proved to be difficult.
Brachycaudus helichrysi is a species of aphid first described by the German naturalist Johann Heinrich Kaltenbach in 1843. Its common names include leaf curl plum aphid, and leaf-curling plum aphid, and it is a serious pest of plum and damson trees.
Lipaphis erysimi is a species of aphid of the family Aphididae. Its common names include mustard aphid and turnip aphid. It is found in most temperate and tropical areas of the world and feeds only on cruciferous plants. The insects are almost exclusively female and are very prolific, with wingless females producing around one hundred young during a lifespan of a few weeks.
Megoura viciae is a large, green aphid in the family Aphididae native to Europe that feeds on plants in the genus Vicia. They are commonly known as vetch aphids for this reason.
Aphis pomi, commonly known as the apple aphid, or the green apple aphid, is a true bug in the family Aphididae. It is found on young growth of apple trees and on other members of the rose family where it feeds by sucking sap. Reproduction is mainly by parthenogenesis, in which unmated females give birth to live young.
The mealy plum aphid is an aphid in the superfamily Aphidoidea in the order Hemiptera. It is a true bug and sucks sap from plants.
The rice root aphid or red rice root aphid is an aphid in the superfamily Aphidoidea in the order Hemiptera. It is found in rice and many other plants.
Eriosoma lanigerum, the woolly apple aphid, woolly aphid or American blight, is an aphid in the superfamily Aphidoidea in the order Hemiptera. It is a true bug and sucks sap from plants.
Colophina clematis is a species of aphid in the woolly aphid subfamily, Eriosomatinae, native to Japan. This woolly aphid has the distinction of being the first species of aphid to have been identified as having a "soldier" caste. First instar nymphs of this type are able to protect the aphid colony, killing the larvae of predatory ladybirds, hoverflies and the flower bug Anthocoris nemoralis.
Metopolophium dirhodum, the rose-grain aphid or rose-grass aphid, is a species of sap-sucking insect in the family Aphididae found worldwide. Its primary host is rose, and its secondary host is a grass, including cereals such as wheat, barley, oats and rye. It is an important vector of the barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) which causes serious reductions in yields of affected crops.
Phyllaphis fagi, the woolly beech aphid, is a species of aphid in the family Aphididae.