Dysaphis plantaginea
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Dysaphis plantaginea | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Clade: | Pancrustacea |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hemiptera |
| Suborder: | Sternorrhyncha |
| Family: | Aphididae |
| Genus: | Dysaphis |
| Species: | D. plantaginea |
| Binomial name | |
| Dysaphis plantaginea Passerini, 1860 | |
Dysaphis plantaginea, also known as the rosy apple aphid, is an aphid which inhabits apple trees and is considered a pest in apple cultivation.[1][2] It was described in 1860 by Giovanni Passerini, an Italian entomologist.[3]
The length of D. plantaginea ranges between 2-3mm. Initially, young aphids are beige, but develop a rosy pink hue as they mature. Imagines are colored bluish-green to grey. Winged individuals display a reddish-grey abdomen marked by a long, dark patch on the dorsal side.[1] The abdomen of the imagines is covered in a white wax coating and their cornicles are black. In this aphid species, wingless individuals have antennae shorter than their body, while the antennae of winged individuals are around as long as their body length.[4][5][6] At first, the eggs are green, but gradually turn glossy black.[7]
Habitat and distribution
Life cycle
D. plantaginea produces 5-6 generations per year parthenogenetically without being fertilized. Winged individuals are produced from early summer onwards so they can migrate to their intermediate host, a herbeceous plant. In fall, they return to their definitive host, an apple tree, where, after sexual reproduction by winged females and males, the eggs are laid in bark crevices and fruit stem scars, where they stay over the winter. In spring, the aphids hatch.[8][7]
Ant attendance is common, typically by the Black garden ant,[1] and has been proven to increase the size and growth of populations of D. plantaginea.[10]
