''Aphis genistae'' is an

aphid Aphids are small sap-sucking insects in the Taxonomic rank, family Aphididae. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. The group includes the fluffy white Eriosomatinae, woolly ...

of the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

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/cr ...

Distribution

This species can be found in most of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

eastward to Ukraine and Turkey, and in the

Nearctic realm The Nearctic realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting the Earth's land surface. The Nearctic realm covers most of North America, including Greenland, Central Florida, and the highlands of Mexico. The parts of North America t ...

(it has been introduced to North America).

Description

''Aphis genistae'' can reach a length of . Apterae are black, coated with wax meal, while alatae have 4-8 secondary rhinaria.Aphids on Worlds Plants
/ref>

Biology

These insects mainly feed on small branches and flowers of ''

Genista anglica ''Genista anglica'', the petty whin, needle furze or needle whin, is a shrubby flowering plant of the family Fabaceae which can be found in Europe. In Great Britain, it is found in Cornwall, Wales and eastern Scotland. It is high. References

'', '' Genista lydia'' and ''

Genista tinctoria ''Genista tinctoria'', the dyer's greenweed or dyer's broom, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae. Its other common names include dyer's whin, waxen woad and waxen wood. The Latin specific epithet ''tinctoria'' means "used as a ...

'' (hence the species name), but they have also been collected on

Laburnum ''Laburnum'', sometimes called golden chain or golden rain, is a genus of two species of small trees in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are '' Laburnum anagyroides''—common laburnum and '' Laburnum alpinum''— ...

Cytisus ''Cytisus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, native to open sites (typically scrub and heathland) in Europe, western Asia and North Africa. It belongs to the subfamily Faboideae, and is one of several genera in the tribe Ge ...

Petteria ''Petteria ramentacea'', commonly known as Dalmatian laburnum, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae. It is a deciduous shrub native to the western Balkan Peninsula, including Greece, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Monteneg ...

Spartium ''Spartium junceum'', known as Spanish broom, rush broom, or weaver's broom, it is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and the sole species in the genus ''Spartium''. It is closely related to the other brooms (in the genera '' Cy ...

and

Sophora ''Sophora'' is a genus of about 45 species of small trees and shrubs in the pea family Fabaceae. The species have a pantropical distribution. The generic name is derived from ''sophera'', an Arabic name for a pea-flowered tree. The genus formerl ...

species.Wink, M.; Witte, L.
Storage of quinolizidine alkaloids in Macrosiphum albifrons and Aphis genistae (Homoptera: Aphididae), Entomol. Gener., 1991, 15, 4, 237-254
/ref> These aphids sometimes have a mutualistic relationship with ants. They are holocyclic (sex is involved, leading to egg production) and oviparae. Sexual females mate with the alate males in September to produce overwintering eggs.

Bibliography

* * * * * * Kaltenbach (1843), Monographie der Familien der Pflanzenläuse (Phytophthires), P. Fagot, Aachen 222 pp * * *

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q14085318 Hemiptera of Europe genistae Insects described in 1763 Taxa named by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli