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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 Acaciacamelthorn 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 waspsladybirdslacewing 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 EntomologyAnnual 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.