''Macrosiphum rosae'', the rose aphid, is a species of sap-sucking

aphids 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 ...

in the subfamily Aphidinae. They have a world-wide distribution and infest rosebushes as the main host in spring and early summer, congregating on the tips of shoots and around new buds. Later in the summer, winged forms move to other rose bushes, or to a limited number of secondary hosts, before returning to rosebushes to lay eggs in the autumn.

Description

Wingless adults have a spindle-shaped body and are between long, slender, varying in colour from green to pink and reddish-brown. The antennae and legs are relatively long, and the cauda (tail-like protrusion) is pale. The siphunculi (pair of small backward-pointing tubes on the abdomen) are long, tapered and black, which distinguishes this aphid from '' Metopolophium dirhodum'', the rose-grain aphid, which has pale siphunculi. Winged individuals are between in length, varying from green to pinkish-brown, and having distinctive black lateral markings.

Life cycle

This aphid mainly

overwinters Overwintering is the process by which some organisms pass through or wait out the winter season, or pass through that period of the year when "winter" conditions (cold or sub-zero temperatures, ice, snow, limited food supplies) make normal activi ...

as eggs on roses, but in mild winters, some adults may survive until spring. The eggs hatch in spring into wingless females which reproduce parthenogenetically, and large colonies can quickly develop, being mainly found on the tips of shoots and around flower buds. The heaviest population densities are in June and July in the northern hemisphere, just when the bushes are flowering, and thereafter the populations decline. This is because at this time of year, some winged females develop, which migrate to other rose bushes or to certain secondary hosts such as

holly ''Ilex'' () or holly is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...

teasel ''Dipsacus'' is a genus of flowering plant in the family Caprifoliaceae. The members of this genus are known as teasel, teazel or teazle. The genus includes about 15 species of tall herbaceous biennial plants (rarely short-lived perennial plants ...

, valerian, '' Knautia'' and scabious. With the onset of autumn, winged males are also produced, the insects return to roses and the eggs are laid.

Damage done

Rose aphids damage the aesthetic appearance of rosebushes by contorting the flowers and foliage, and by the sticky honeydew they produce, which often provides a surface on which sooty moulds develop.

References

External links

* {{taxonbar, from=Q838294 Cosmopolitan insects Insects described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Macrosiphini