Skip to main content


Adult wingless parthenogenetic females are oval-bodied, 1.2-2.1 mm in body length, of very variable colour;whitish green, pale yellow green, grey green, mid-green, dark green, pink or red. The tobacco form (nicotianae) varies even more and can also be bright yellow, or almost black. Apart from genetically determined colour variation, any one genotype will be more deeply pigmented green or magenta in cold conditions. Immature stages are quite shiny, but adults are less so. Winged morphs have a black central dorsal patch on the abdomen. Immatures of the winged females are often pink or red, especially in autumn populations, and immature males are yellowish (Blackman and Eastop, 1985).
Distinguishing characters of the M. persicae group with a hand lens or under the microscope are the convergent inner faces of the antennal tubercles in dorsal view, and the very slightly clavate siphunculi, which are usually dark-tipped and about as long as the terminal process of the antenna.
M. persicae alate virginoparae from populations derived from overwintering eggs on Prunus have cylindrical cornicles, whereas those from populations derived from overwintering virginoparae are clavate.

Recoginition


On Prunus persica, inspect for curled leaves, in which colonies develop in early spring.
Monitoring is important in field crops, but M. persicae transmits viruses of crops such as sugar beet and potato at low densities, and is therefore difficult to detect on the crop before the damage is done. Suction and yellow traps are the most efficient way to detect first migration of winged aphids into the crop. Networks of suction traps have been developed to monitor migrating aphids, for example, the Rothamsted Insect Survey in the UK and AGRAPHID in France (Hulle et al., 1987), as part of the 'Euraphid' forecasting system in European Union countries. Much effort has been expended on developing forecasting methods, for example for sugarbeet (Harrington et al., 1989). Appropriate applications of insecticides are often based on monitoring data. Insecticide application in sugar beet against M. persicae is only necessary when aphids are carrying yellows viruses. Vertical nets placed downwind of fields of infected potato plants can be used to quantify the proportion of M. persicae carrying virus (diagnosed by use of ELISA;see Diagnosis).

Related invasive species

  • Myzus persicae

Related Farm Practice

  • Rolling
  • Host plants
Has Cabi datasheet ID
35642
Symptons


Effect of infestation depends greatly on host plant and transmitted viruses. Spring populations on peach cause severe leaf curl and shoot distortion. In potato, PLRV symptoms are leaf rolling and tuber stem necrosis. In sugarbeet, beet yellows viruses (BYV, BYDV, BWYV) cause yellowing in older leaves, chlorotic spotting, and thickening of the leaves, which become leathery and brittle.
On many crop plants (for example, potato, brassicas, sugarbeet) M. persicae only occurs at low densities, particularly on older leaves. Large colonies of the tobacco form (nicotianae) occur on growing stems and younger leaves.

Hosts


The winter (primary) host of M. persicae is almost invariably Prunus persica (peach), including var. nectarina;sometimes P. nigra in USA, and possibly P. tenella, P. nana, P. serotina, P. americana and peach-almond hybrids. It is not clear whether the sexual part of the life-cycle is completed on species other than P. persica and P. nigra.
M. persicae is highly polyphagous on summer hosts, which are in over 40 different families, including Brassicaceae, Solanaceae, Poaceae, Leguminosae, Cyperaceae, Convolvulaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Compositae, Cucurbitaceae and Umbelliferae. Summer hosts include many economically important plants.

Oss tagged
x

Please add some content in Animated Sidebar block region. For more information please refer to this tutorial page:

Add content in animated sidebar