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Cowpea Aphid Other Names = Black Legume Aphid & Groundnut Aphid Aphis craccivora Koch -- Hemiptera: Aphididae |
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The feeding of this aphid
on clover and alfalfa produces plant wilting as well as discoloration from
the pests’ honeydew and the resulting sootymold fungi. Many other plant species may be affected. Such damage is especially serious on
ornamental plants because it ruins their external appearance. The cowpea
aphid also transmits several plant viruses.
Additional plants in the following families are also affected: Asteraceae,
Brassiceae, Caryophyllaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Malvaceae,
Ranunculaceae, Rosaceae and Solanaceae.
Besides cowpeas, crops attacked include brassicas, cucurbits,
beetroot, peanut, cotton, chickpeas and cardamom. Aphis craccivora is probably
native to the Palearctic area but it has expanded its
range with international commerce so that now it is near cosmopolitan. By the 21st Century its range has extended
further north in Siberia and Canada and further south in Chile and
Argentina. It is abundant in the
Mediterranean area and subtropics and in the tropics it is one of the most
common aphid species. This is a small species of
aphid. The female has a glossy black
or dark brown body with a long tail-like protrusion, and legs that are
brownish to yellow. The antennae have
six segments and these and the limb segments are pale close to the body
and dark distally further from the body.
The adults do not have wax on their dorsal surface but
the nymphs are lightly dusted with wax. Winged females may reach 2.2 mm in length and have a
cross-barring pattern on the abdomen.
Wingless females are somewhat smaller In northern Europe Aphis craccivora overwinters as
eggs, often at the base of young alfalfa plants, but is
also reported to overwinter on Acacia, camelthorn and perennial
weeds. The eggs hatch in early spring
and the first larvae are known as fundatrix (stem mothers) and feed at first
on alfalfa. These aphids are all
female and reproduce by parthenogenesis, producing nymphs
which moult four times over the course of eight to twelve days. By the end of
April, winged females have migrated to other host plants, often Acacia, and later to cotton, on which crop this
pest does much damage. It may move back to
alfalfa later in the year. In
Belarus, lupine is an important host plant and in
Ukraine, Acacia is
most affected. A female aphid lives
for 9 to 25 days and can produce from 25 to 125 young during its life. There may be up to twenty generations in
the year. By November winged forms
have developed and eggs are laid before winter begins. In warmer climates, parthenogenetic
reproduction takes place all year long.
The winged male insects are seldom encountered but have been observed
in Germany, India and Argentina. The aphids tend to concentrate on the
growing tips of plants, young leaves, shoots, flowers and developing seed
pods. They are often tended by ants which feed on the
secretions they produce and deter predators. Natural enemies include parasitic wasps, ladybirds, lacewing larvae and hoverfly larvae For biological control the cowpea aphid is
attacked by several endoparasitoids of the family Aphidiidae, and infected by
entomopathogenic fungi that kill the pest.
The studies by Ahmed el-Heneidy and associates on aphid natural
enemies provide valuable information for biological control in areas of
invasion worldwide. REFERENCES: Abdel-Baky,
N. F. & A. H. Abdel-Salam. 2003. Natural incidence of Cladosporium spp. as a
bio-control agent against whiteflies and aphids in Egypt. Journal of Applied Entomology 127: 228-235. Annan,
I. B., W. M. Tingey, G. A. Schaefers, W. F. Tjallingii,, E.
A. Backus & K. N. Saxena. 2000. Stylet
penetration activities by Aphis
craccivora (Homoptera: Aphididae) on plants and
excised plant parts of resistant and susceptible cultivars of cowpea
(Leguminosae). Annals of the Entomological
Society of America 93: 133-140. Attia,
A. A.; A. H. El-Heneidy & E. A.
El-Kady. 1986. Studies on the aphid, Aphis craccivora Koch. (Homoptera:
Aphididae) in Egypt. Bull. Soc. Ent. Egypte, 66: 319-324. El-Dakroury, M. S.;
M. S. Abbas & A. H. El-Heneidy.
1977. Biological notes on Campoplex
(Eulimnerium) xanthostoma Grav.
(Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae). Agric. Res. Rev. 55 (1): 157-162, Egypt. El-Heneidy,
A. H. 1991. Seasonal abundance of aphids and their
natural enemies in wheat fields in Upper Egypt. Egypt. J. Biol. Pest Cont., 1 (1): 5-10. El-Heneidy, A. H. 1994. Efficacy of aphidophagous against aphids
at wheat fields in Egypt. A 5-year evaluation. Egypt. J. Biol. Pest Cont. 4 (2): 113-123. El-Heneidy, A. H. 1999. Review paper. Biological Control of Aphids
in Wheat fields. Egypt. J. Agric. Res. 76 (3): 1027-1035. El-Heneidy,
A. H. 1999. An Arabic booklet titled “Aphids and their
Natural Enemies on Wheat Plants”. Published by Central Administration of
Extension (1999), 24 pp. El-Heneidy, A. H. &
M. S. Abbas. 1984.
Population dynamics of certain predators associated with aphids in
maize fields in Giza Region. Beitraga Trop.
Landwirt. Veternarmed.
22 (4): 407-413, Germany. El-Heneidy, A. H. & A. A. Attia. 1988. Evaluation to the
role of parasitoids and predators associated with aphids in wheat fields. Egypt. Bull. Soc. Ent. Egypte, Econ. Ser.17: 137-147.
El-Heneidy,
A. H.
& Y. H. Fayad. 1995.
Studies on the population densities of aphids and their natural enemies in wheat fields in
Egypt. Egypt. J. Appl. Sci. 10
(1): 122-131. El-Heneidy,
A. H. & M. B. Sekamatte. 1996. Comparative Population Densities of Certain Predatory Species in
Two Cotton Ecosystems in Uganda.
Annals Agric. Sci., Moshtohor, Vol. 34 (3): 1189-1199. El-Heneidy,
A. H. & M. B. Sekamatte. 1999. Recent records for parasitoid species of
certain cotton pests in Uganda. Scientific
Note. Egypt. J. Biol. Pest Cont. 8 (2):
97–98. El-Heneidy,
A. H.; M. S. Abbas & M. S.
El-Dakroury. 1978.
Seasonal abundance of certain
predators in untreated Egyptian
clover and cotton fields in Fayoum Governorate. Egypt. Bull. Soc. Ent. Egypte
62: 91-96. El-Heneidy,
A. H.; H. Klausnitzer & K. Richter.
1987. Beitrag zur Kenntnis der
Parasitoide (Hymenoptera) von Aphis fabae
crisiiacanthoidas Scop. im
Gebiet von Leipzig. Entomologische Nachrichten und Berichte
31: 67-70. El-Heneidy,
A. H.; M. S. Abbas & A. A. Khidr. 1987. Comparative population densities of
certain predators in cotton fields treated with sex pheromones and
insecticides in Menoufia Governorate.
Egypt. Bull. Soc. Ent. Egypte, Econ. Ser.16: 181-190. El-Heneidy, A. H.; K. Richter & H. Klausnitzer.
1989. Experimentele Untersuchungen zum Wirt-Parasitoid-Complex
von Aphis fabae crisiiacanthoidas Scop., (Homoptera:
Aphididae) und Lysiphlibus fabarum
Marsh. (Hymenoptera: Aphidiidae).
Zeitschrift fur angewandete Entomologie 1989. El-Heneidy, A. H.; Y. H.
Fayad, H. Shoab & G. M.
Moawad. 1991. Influence of insecticidal application on
aphid populations and their natural enemies in wheat fields. Egypt. J. Biol. Pest Cont., 1 (2): 79-85. El-Heneidy, A. H.; Y. H.
Fayad, D. Gonzalez, D., N. M.
Abdel-Salam, J. Ellington & G. M. Moawad. 1996.
Pest-Predator- Interactions in Untreated Cotton Fields at Three Plant
Growth Stages. 1- Location Impact.
Egypt. J. Biol. Pest Cont. 6 (1):
75-81. El-Heneidy, A. H.; G.
Resk, M. Hekal &
S. Abdel Samad. 1998. Impact of Planting Date on Aphids’
Population and Associated Natural Enemies on Faba Bean Plants in Egypt. Arab. Jour. of Plant Protection, 16 (2): 55-59. El-Heneidy, A. H.,
D. Gonzalez, D. P. Stary, Adley
Dalia & M. A. El- Khawas. 2001.
A Survey of Primary and Secondary Parasitoid Species of Cereal
Aphids in Egypt. Egypt. J. Biol. Pest
Cont. 11 (2). El-Heneidy, A. H., S. Salwa & S. Abdel-Samad. 2001.
Tritrophic Interactions among Egyptian Wheat Plant, Cereal Aphids and
Natural Enemies. Egypt. J. Biol. Pest
Cont. 11 (2). Jackai,
L. E. N., & R. A. Daoust. 1986.
Insect Pests of Cowpeas. Annual Review of Entomology. Annual Reviews. 31 (1): 95–119. Pettersson,
J., S. Karunaratne, E. Ahmed
& V. Kumar.
1998. The cowpea aphid, Aphis craccivora, host
plant odours and pheromones. Entomologia
Experimentalis et Applicata 88: 177-184. Swirski,
E. & S. Amitai. 1999.
Annotated list of aphids (Aphidoidea) in Israel. Israel Journal of Entomology 33: 1-120. Ward,
A., S. Morse, I. L.
Denholm, R. Thompson &
N. McNamara. 2002. Foliar insect pest management on cowpea (Vigna unguiculata
Walpers) in simulated varietal mixtures II. Pest resistance management
implications. Field Crops Research
79:
67-80. Dimetry,
N. Z. & F. M. A. Elhawary.
1995. Neem AZAL-F as an
inhibitor of growth and reproduction in the cowpea aphid Aphis craccivora
Koch. Journal of Applied Entomology 119: 67-71. Ulrichs,
C., I. Mewis &
W. H. Schnitzler. 2001.
Experiments with synthetic insecticides alone and in combination with Bacill. thur. and Trichogramma evan. to
control Vigna
pests under conditions in tropic lowlands.
Anzeiger für Schadlingskunde 74: 117-120.
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