BY ZACK THOMAS
Family: Aphididae
Superfamily: Aphidoidea
Order: Homoptera
Class: Insecta
General characteristics of the family Aphididae, commonly referred to as the plantlice, are as follows: 1-5 mm in length; usually pale or greenish; wings transparent and sometimes marked; hind wings always smaller than front wings; many species wingless (Arnett, 1985).
Acyrthosiphon is a largely palearctic, free-living genus of approximately 100 species living on various dicotyledons, in particular Leguminosae, Rosaceae, and Euphorbiaceae. The are medium size to rather large aphids; usually green but sometimes brownish, pink, or yellow; short-haired; with generally rather long antennae, legs, siphunculi, and cauda (Blackman &;Eastop, 1984). None of the species in this genus host-alternate and associations with trees are all secondary (Blackman &;Eastop, 1994).
Page Contents
€Species List
€Identification Guide (to distiguish members of Acyrthosiphon at the species level)
€Gerneral Information (Natural history, life cycle, ecology, etc...)
€References
€ Acyrthosiphon Species List € (from Eastop &;Lambers, 1976)
Species followed by name of individual who first
described it and the year of description
astragali Eastop, 1971
auctum Walker, 1849
aurlandicum Heikenheimo, 1966
berkemiae Shinji,1941
bideticola Smith, 1960
boreale Hille Ris Lambers, 1952
brachysiphon Hille Ris Lambers, 1952
brevicorne Hille Ris Lambers, 1960
brevis Richards, 1963
calvulum Ossianilson, 1958
caraganae Hille Ris Lambers, 1947
catharinae Nevsky, 1926
circifoliae Shinji, 1935
cirsifoliae Shinji, 1935
codonopsis Miyazaki, 1971
crepidis Holman, 1975
cyatheae Holman, 1974
cyparissiae Mordvilko, 1914
daturae Rusanova, 1943
dauricum Szelegiewicz, 1963
dubium Mordvilko, 1914
elaeocarpi Tao, 1963
emeljanovi Mordvilko, 1914
emeri Hille Ris Lambers, 1955
ericetorum Hille Ris Lambers, 1959
euphorbiae Börner, 1949
evoidiae Takahashi, 1929
fragariaevescae Nevsky, 1951
genistae Mordvilko, 1914
geranicola Hille Ris Lambers, 1935
ghanii Eastop, 1971
gossypicola Shinji, 1936
gossypii Mordvilko, 1914
graminearum Mordvilko, 1919
hissaricum Umarov, 1966
hoffmanni Takahashi, 1937
ignotum Mordvilko, 1914
ilka Mordvilko, 1914
kamtshatkanum Mordvilko, 1914
knechteli Börner, 1950
kondoi Shinji, 1938
kuwanai Takahashi, 1933
lactucae Passarini, 1860
lambersi Leclant &;Remaudiére, 1974
loti Theobald, 1913
macrosiphon Wilson, 1912
malvae Mosley, 1841
moltshanovi Mordvilko, 1914
mordvilkoi Nevsky, 1928
navozovi Mordvilko, 1914
neerlandicum Hille Ris Lambers, 1947
nigripes Hille Ris Lambers, 1935
norvegicum Mordvilko, 1914
onobrychis Börner, 1952
orientale Mordvilko, 1914
pamiricum Nevsky, 1929
papaverinum Nevsky, 1957
parvum Börner, 1950
pedicularis Richards, 1972
pelargonii Kaltenbach, 1843
pentatrichopus Hille Ris Lambers, 1974
phaseoli Chakrabarti, Ghosh, &;Raychaudhuri, 1971
photineae Takahashi, 1936
pisi Kaltenbach, 1843
pisum Harris, 1776
porrifolii Börner, 1950
pseudodirhodum Patch, 1919
purshiae Palmer, 1935
rhododendri Takahashi, 1937
rjabushinskii Mordvilko, 1914
rosaefoliae Takahashi, 1931
rubi Kaltenbach, 1843
rumicus Narzikulov, 1963
salviae Nevsky, 1929
scariolae Nevsky, 1929
sesbaniae David, 1956
shawi Stroyan, 1957
shinanonum Miyazaki, 1971
silenicola Hille Ris Lambers, 1955
skrjabini Mordvilko, 1914
soldatovi Mordvilko, 1914
sophorae Narzikulov &;Umarov, 1969
spartii Börner, 1952
spiraeae Narzikulov, 1957
spireaellae Umarov, 1964
svalbardicum Heikenheimo, 1968
taiheisanum Takahashi, 1935
thracicum Tashev, 1962
titovi Mordvilko, 1914
tutigula Hottes, 1933
umarovi Narzikulov, 1972
vandenborschi Hille Ris Lambers, 1974
vasiljevi Mordvilko, 1915
vescae Nevsky, 1969
wasintae Hottes, 1933
€ Identification Guide €
Species within this genus are distinguished from each other by examining several characteristics: markings, if any present, on the wings of alatae; length and coloration of appendages, especially the legs; different patterns of coloration on the antennae, sometimes number of antennal segments; final length and size of the body in matures; and, in some cases, body coloration (Arnett, 1985). Due to the large number of species in this genus, the criteria for distinguishing individual species are listed under the individual species headings where available.
€ General Information €
The life cycle of Acyrthosiphon is typical of monophagous aphids. Members of the genus overwinter as eggs which hatch into nymphs that develop into wingless females. Later generations are produced parthenogenetically for as long as conditions (weather, food, etc...) are favorable (Campbell &;Eikenbary, 1990). When winged females are produced they leave the host plant to start new colonies. Under stress, sexual females are produced along with males that develop from unfertilized, haploid gametes. Sexual reproduction results in eggs that are lain on the host plant. Eggs overwinter and the cycle begins again (Dixon, 1985, 1 ). Because the family Acyrthosiphon is found mostly on dicotyledons, particularly Leguminosae, Rosaceae, and Euphorbiaceae, its members are widely considered to be agricultural pests. Populations grow quickly once established and are not easily controlled (Dixon, 1985, 2), although there has been much work in the last several years aimed at controlling various species through predator introduction and other biological controls (for more information: Gutierrez &;Pickering, 1991; Minks &;Harrewijn; Mertins, 1985; Rethwisch &;Manglitz, 1990).
€ References €
Arnett, Ross H., jr. 1985. American Insects: A Handbook to the Insects of America North of Mexico. Van Nostrand Reihold Company, New York, NY. 19 - 19.2.
Blackman, R.L. And V.F. Eastop. 1984. Aphids on the World's Crops: An Identification Guide. John Wiley &;Sons, New York, NY. 210-214.
Blackman, R.L. And V.F. Eastop. 1994. Aphids on the World's Trees: An Identification and Information. University Press, Cambridge, England. 540-541.
Campbell, R.K. And R.D. Eikenbary, eds. 1990. Aphid-Plant Genotype Interactions. Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam. 362 pages. (ISBN: 0-444-88257-X)
Dixon, A.F.G. 1973. Biology of Aphids. Edward Arnold (Publishers), Ltd. London. 55 pages. (ISBN: 0-7131-2421-0)
Dixon, A.F.G. 1985. Aphid Ecology. Blackie and Son, Ltd. Glasgow. 136 pages. (ISBN: 0-412-00381-3)
Dixon, A.F.G. 1985. Structure of Aphid Populations. Annual Review of Entomology 30: 155-174.
Eastop, V.F. &;D. Hille Ris Lambers. 1976. Survey of the World's Aphids. Dr. Junk b.v., Publishers, The Hague. p.12-17.
Gutierrez, A.P. and J. Pickering. 1991. Differential Impact of the Pathogen Pandora neoaphidis Humber on the species composition of Acyrthosiphon aphids in Alfalfa. The Canadian Entomologist 123: 316 319.
Institute of Zoology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, organizer. 1985. Evolution and Biosystematics of Aphids. Zaklad Narodowy im. Ossolinskich, Warsaw. 508 pages. (ISBN: 83-04-01609-5)
Manglitz, George R. And Michael D. Rethwisch. 1990. Parasitism by Praon pequodorum Viereck: Preferences for Blue Alfalfa Aphid and Pea Aphid and Impact on Aphid Reproduction. Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 63: 298-303.
Mertins, Joln W. 1985. Hyperparasitoids from Pea Aphid Mummie, Acyrthosiphon pisum in North America. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 78, no. 2 : 186-197.
Minks, A.K. And P. Harrewijn. 1987. Aphids: Their Biology, Natural Enemies, and Control. Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam. (ISBN: 0-444-42630-2)
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