''Brevicoryne brassicae'', commonly known as the cabbage aphid or cabbage aphis, is a destructive

aphid Aphids are small sap-sucking insects and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. The group includes the fluffy white woolly aphids. A ...

(plant louse) native to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

that is now found in many other areas of the world.Hawaii Department of Entomology information page
/ref> The aphids feed on many varieties of produce, including cabbage,

broccoli Broccoli (''Brassica oleracea'' var. ''italica'') is an edible green plant in the cabbage family (family Brassicaceae, genus ''Brassica'') whose large flowering head, stalk and small associated leaves are eaten as a vegetable. Broccoli is clas ...

(especially),

Brussels sprouts The Brussels sprout is a member of the Gemmifera cultivar group of cabbages (''Brassica oleracea''), grown for its edible buds. The leaf vegetables are typically 1.5–4.0 cm (0.6–1.6 in) in diameter and resemble miniature cabbages ...

cauliflower Cauliflower is one of several vegetables in the species '' Brassica oleracea'' in the genus ''Brassica'', which is in the Brassicaceae (or mustard) family. It is an annual plant that reproduces by seed. Typically, only the head is eaten – t ...

and many other members of the genus ''

Brassica ''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 ...

'', but do not feed on plants outside of the family

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 l ...

. The insects entirely avoid plants other than those of Brassicaceae; even though thousands may be eating broccoli near strawberries, the strawberries will be left untouched.University of Minnesota extension
Cabbage aphids, from the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

Brevicoryne ''Brevicoryne'' is a genus of aphid insect that contains many species which are agricultural pests. Hosts This genus parasitizes a wide range of hosts, with many members of the Brassicaceae ( broccoli, cabbage, kale, etc.) included. Adults ...

'' of 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/cr ...

, are grayish-green, but a waxy covering gives them a grayish-white to powdery blue appearance.

Predator defense mechanism

Cabbage aphids produce a

myrosinase Myrosinase (, ''thioglucoside glucohydrolase'', ''sinigrinase'', and ''sinigrase'') is a family of enzymes involved in plant defense against herbivores, specifically the mustard oil bomb. The three-dimensional structure has been elucidated and is ...

(beta-thioglucoside glucohydrolase)

enzyme Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrate (chemistry), substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecule ...

in head and thoracic

muscle Skeletal muscles (commonly referred to as muscles) are Organ (biology), organs of the vertebrate muscular system and typically are attached by tendons to bones of a skeleton. The muscle cells of skeletal muscles are much longer than in the other ...

s; the aphids also uptake

glucosinolate Glucosinolates are natural components of many pungent plants such as mustard, cabbage, and horseradish. The pungency of those plants is due to mustard oils produced from glucosinolates when the plant material is chewed, cut, or otherwise damage ...

s, particularly

sinigrin Sinigrin is a glucosinolate that belongs to the family of glucosides found in some plants of the family Brassicaceae such as Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and the seeds of black mustard (''Brassica nigra''). Whenever sinigrin-containing plant tiss ...

, from the plants on which they feed, storing the glucosinolates in their

haemolymph Hemolymph, or haemolymph, is a fluid, analogous to the blood in vertebrates, that circulates in the interior of the arthropod (invertebrate) body, remaining in direct contact with the animal's tissues. It is composed of a fluid plasma in which ...

. (Glucosinolates are natural defenses for plants in the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...

Brassicales The Brassicales (or Cruciales) are an order of flowering plants, belonging to the eurosids II group of dicotyledons under the APG II system. One character common to many members of the order is the production of glucosinolate (mustard oil) compo ...

against pests and

herbivore A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthp ...

s.) The combination of the glucosinolates and the myrosinase enzyme produces a violent chemical reaction that releases the

mustard oil Mustard oil can mean either the pressed oil used for cooking, or a pungent essential oil also known as volatile oil of mustard. The essential oil results from grinding mustard seed, mixing the grounds with water, and extracting the resulting vol ...

chemical

allyl isothiocyanate Allyl isothiocyanate (AITC) is an organosulfur compound (formula CH2CHCH2NCS). This colorless oil is responsible for the pungent taste of mustard, radish, horseradish, and wasabi. This pungency and the lachrymatory effect of AITC are mediated th ...

.Imperial College London (2007, July 12). Aphids Make 'Chemical Weapons' To Fight Off Killer Ladybirds. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 20, 2007, from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070711105844.htm The defense mechanism has a dramatic negative effect on the survival of the

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. Th ...

l ladybird predator ''

Adalia bipunctata ''Adalia bipunctata'', the two-spot ladybird, two-spotted ladybug or two-spotted lady beetle, is a carnivorous beetle of the family Coccinellidae that is found throughout the holarctic region. It is very common in western and central Europe. ...

''. The chemical defence of the aphids has been likened to a " walking mustard oil bomb". The myrosinase from ''Brevicoryne brassicae'' appears to have

evolved Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation te ...

separately from myrosinases found in plants, possibly a case of

convergent evolution Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last com ...

. Aphid myrosinase appears to have greater similarity to animal beta-O-glucosidases than to plant myrosinases.

Pest control

Different varieties of

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

s have varying resistance to ''Brevicoryne brassicae''. ''

Diaeretiella rapae ''Diaeretiella rapae'' is a species of cosmopolitan parasitoid wasp. It parasitizes many species of aphids, but especially the cabbage aphid, ''Brevicoryne brassicae''. It is the only species in the genus ''Diaeretiella''. Other host aphids inc ...

'' is a common

wasp A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. Th ...

parasitoid of cabbage aphids. Other controlling insects include

ladybird beetle 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 th ...

syrphid fly Hover flies, also called flower flies or syrphid flies, make up the insect family Syrphidae. As their common name suggests, they are often seen hovering or nectaring at flowers; the adults of many species feed mainly on nectar and pollen, while ...

larvae, and

lacewing The insect order (biology), order Neuroptera, or net-winged insects, includes the lacewings, Mantispidae, mantidflies, antlions, and their relatives. The order consists of some 6,000 species. Neuroptera can be grouped together with the Megalopt ...

larvae. Some

insecticidal soap Insecticidal soap is used to control many plant insect pests. Soap has been used for more than 200 years as an insect control. Because insecticidal soap works on direct contact with pests via the disruption of cell membranes when the insect is pen ...

s may be effective in treating aphid infestations.

References

External links

Images of cabbage aphids
* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q2634837 Macrosiphini Agricultural pest insects Insect vectors of plant pathogens Insects described in 1758 Hemiptera of Europe Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus