''Aphis craccivora'', variously known as the cowpea aphid, groundnut aphid or black legume aphid, is a
true bug
Hemiptera (; ) is an order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising over 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, assassin bugs, bed bugs, and shield bugs. They range in size from to around , ...
in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
''
Aphididae
The Aphididae are a very large insect family in the aphid superfamily ( Aphidoidea), of the order Hemiptera. These insects suck the sap from plant leaves. Several thousand species are placed in this family, many of which are considered plant/crop ...
''.
Originally of probable
Palearctic origin, it is now an
invasive species of
cosmopolitan distribution.
Description
''Aphis craccivora'' is a small species of aphid. The female has a glossy black or dark brown body with a prominent cauda (tail-like protrusion), and legs in some shade of brown or yellow. The antennae have six segments and these and the limb segments, cauda and
cornicle
The cornicle (or siphuncule) is one of a pair of small upright backward-pointing tubes found on the dorsal side of the 5th or 6th abdominal segments of aphids. They are sometimes mistaken for cerci. They are no more than pores in some species.
...
s are pale proximally (close to the body) and dark distally (further from the body). The adults do not have wax on their dorsal surface but the
nymphs
A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ...
are lightly dusted with wax. Winged females are up to long and have cross-barring on the abdomen. Wingless females are a little smaller.
[
]
Distribution
''Aphis craccivora'' is believed to be Palearctic in origin but has expanded its range so that now it is near cosmopolitan. In recent years 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.[ Infests ]cowpea
The cowpea (''Vigna unguiculata'') is an annual herbaceous legume from the genus ''Vigna''. Its tolerance for sandy soil and low rainfall have made it an important crop in the semiarid regions across Africa and Asia. It requires very few inputs, ...
in India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, the Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
, Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
, the southern United States
The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...
, tropical Africa
Although tropical Africa is mostly familiar to the West for its rainforests, this biogeographic realm of Africa is far more diverse. While the tropics are thought of as regions with hot moist climates, which are caused by latitude and the trop ...
, and Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
.
Hosts
''Aphis craccivora'' is polyphagous, meaning it feeds on a large number of different species of plant, but it seems to have a preference for members of the bean family.[ Other plant families sometimes acting as hosts include ]Asteraceae
The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...
, Brassicaceae
Brassicaceae () or (the older) Cruciferae () is a medium-sized and economically important family of flowering plants commonly known as the mustards, the crucifers, or the cabbage family. Most are herbaceous plants, while some are shrubs. The leav ...
, Caryophyllaceae
Caryophyllaceae, commonly called the pink family or carnation family, is a family of flowering plants. It is included in the dicotyledon order Caryophyllales in the APG III system, alongside 33 other families, including Amaranthaceae, Cactacea ...
, Chenopodiaceae
Amaranthaceae is a family of flowering plants commonly known as the amaranth family, in reference to its type genus '' Amaranthus''. It includes the former goosefoot family Chenopodiaceae and contains about 165 genera and 2,040 species, making i ...
, Cucurbitaceae
The Cucurbitaceae, also called cucurbits or the gourd family, are a plant family consisting of about 965 species in around 95 genera, of which the most important to humans are:
*''Cucurbita'' – squash, pumpkin, zucchini, some gourds
*'' Lagen ...
, Malvaceae
Malvaceae, or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include okra, cotton, cacao and durian. There are also some genera containing familiar ...
, Ranunculaceae
Ranunculaceae (buttercup or crowfoot family; Latin "little frog", from "frog") is a family of over 2,000 known species of flowering plants in 43 genera, distributed worldwide.
The largest genera are ''Ranunculus'' (600 species), ''Delphinium' ...
, Rosaceae and Solanaceae.[ Crops attacked by this aphid include ]brassicas
''Brassica'' () is a genus of plants in the cabbage and mustard family (Brassicaceae). The members of the genus are informally known as cruciferous vegetables, cabbages, or mustard plants. Crops from this genus are sometimes called ''cole cro ...
, cucurbits, beetroot, peanut
The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small and ...
, cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...
, cowpea
The cowpea (''Vigna unguiculata'') is an annual herbaceous legume from the genus ''Vigna''. Its tolerance for sandy soil and low rainfall have made it an important crop in the semiarid regions across Africa and Asia. It requires very few inputs, ...
s, chickpeas and cardamom
Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genera ''Elettaria'' and ''Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indonesia. They are r ...
.
Life cycle
In the former USSR, ''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
Parthenogenesis (; from the Greek grc, παρθένος, translit=parthénos, lit=virgin, label=none + grc, γένεσις, translit=génesis, lit=creation, label=none) is a natural form of asexual reproduction in which growth and developmen ...
, 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
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...
, 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 sets in.
In warmer climates, parthenogenetic reproduction takes place throughout the year. The winged male insects are seldom encountered but have been observed in Germany, India and Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
. The aphids tend to concentrate on the growing tips of plants, young leaves, shoots, flowers and developing seed pods. They are often tended by ant
Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of ...
s which feed on the secretions they produce and deter predators. Natural enemies include parasitic wasps
Parasitoid wasps are a large group of hymenopteran superfamilies, with all but the wood wasps ( Orussoidea) being in the wasp-waisted Apocrita. As parasitoids, they lay their eggs on or in the bodies of other arthropods, sooner or later cau ...
, ladybirds
Coccinellidae () is a widespread family of small beetles ranging in size from . They are commonly known as ladybugs in North America and ladybirds in Great Britain. Some entomologists prefer the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles as they ...
, lacewing larvae and hoverfly larvae.[
]
Damage
''Aphis craccivora'' causes direct damage to plants by stunting and distorting growth. The honeydew produced is deposited on the plants and encourages the growth of sooty mould
Sooty mold (also spelled sooty mould) is a collective term for different Ascomycete fungi, which includes many genera, commonly ''Cladosporium'' and ''Alternaria''. It grows on plants and their fruit, but also environmental objects, like fences, ...
s which restrict photosynthesis
Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy that, through cellular respiration, can later be released to fuel the organism's activities. Some of this chemical energy is stored i ...
. The aphid is the vector
Vector most often refers to:
*Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction
*Vector (epidemiology), an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism
Vector may also refer to:
Mathematic ...
of a number of plant viruses including groundnut rosette virus, peanut mottle virus, peanut stunt virus, subterranean clover stunt virus
Subterranean(s) or The Subterranean(s) may refer to:
* Subterranea (geography), underground structures, both natural and man-made
Literature
* Subterranean (novel), ''Subterranean'' (novel), a 1998 novel by James Rollins
* ''Subterranean Magaz ...
, bean common mosaic virus, cucumber mosaic virus
''Cucumber mosaic virus'' (CMV) is a plant pathogenic virus in the family ''Bromoviridae''. This virus has a worldwide distribution and a very wide host range, having the reputation of the widest host range of any known plant virus. It can be tra ...
and alfalfa mosaic virus.[
]
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q14085342
Hemiptera of Asia
craccivora
Insects described in 1854
Cosmopolitan arthropods