Rhopalosiphum rufiabdominale (Sasaki, 1899)

rice root aphid

on Prunus, primary host plant

parasite

Apterae 2-3 mm, reddish or greenish-brown with bluish-white mealy wax on sides of body and forming dorsal cross-bands. In spring colonies on young leaves, stems and suckers.

host plants

Rosaceae, monophagous

Prunus armeniaca. domestica.

polyphagous on secondary host plants

parasite

Apterae 1-3 mm, olive green, dark green or brownish with yellowish tints, with a rusty suffusion around bases of siphunculi and on posterior dorsum. At the roots.

host plants

Capsicum annuum; Cucurbita pepo; Setaria; Solanum melongena.

distribution within Europe

Around the Mediterranean; elsewhere only in greenhouses.

notes

An important pest on rice in tropical Asia, where the species is native. Observations on aphids on the primary host plants in Italy suggest the the species is going to be established in Europe.

references

Barbagallo & Massimino Cocuzza (2014a), Barbagallo & Pollini (2014a), Blackman & Eastop (2018), Heie (1986a), Mifsud, Mangion, Azzopardi ao (2011a), Nieto Nafría & de Benito Dorrego (1976a), Nieto Nafría, Mier Durante, García Prieto & Pérez Hidalgo (2005a).