Classification

Aphidinae: Aphidini

Common name(s)

Cotton aphid, melon aphid

Diagnosis

Small to medium sized aphids. Apterae very variable in colour, large specimens dark green, almost black, but adults produced in crowded colonies at high temperature may be less than 1 mm long and very pale yellow to almost white. Most commonly the nymphs are light green mottled with darker green, with dark siphunculi and a pale or dusky cauda. Often ant-attended.

Antennal segments I, II, apical half of processus terminalis and area around the primary rhinarium of VI dark; remainder of antennae pale. Cauda apically broadly rounded, often with 4-7 hairs. Cauda dusky but lighter than siphunculi. Abdominal dorsum without any pigmentation.

Irrespective of the host plant, individuals of the same colony show a great deal of colour variation, which is characteristic of the species.

Distribution

Cosmopolitan, particularly abundant in the tropics.

Host plant(s)

Malvaceae: Abelmoschus esculentus Moench, Abutilon indicum L., Gossypium herbaceum L., Gossypium hirsutum L., Hibiscus cannabinus L., Hibiscus rosa-sinensis L.; Euphorbiaceae: Acalypha hispida Brum. F.; Asteraceae: Ageratum conyzoides L.; Amaranthaceae: Amaranthus viridis L.; Araliaceae: Aralia sp., Colocasia esculenta Schott; Chenopodiaceae: Basella rubra Linn.; Asteraceae: Bidens pilosa L., Chromolaena odorata (Linn.) King & Robs., Chrysanthemum sp., Helianthus annuus L., Mikania micrantha (L.) Kunth, Parthenium hysterophorus L., Tagetes erecta L., Tridax procumbens L.; Fabaceae: Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp., Medicago sativa L., Vicia faba L.; Asclepiadaceae: Calotropis procera (Aiton) W.T.Aiton; Solanaceae: Capsicum annuum L., Capsicum frutescens L., Cestrum nocturnum L., Lycopersicon esculentum P. Miller, Solanum melongena L., Solanum nigrum L., Solanum tuberosum L.; Apiaceae: Cuminum sativum L., Carum copticum Benth. & Hook., Coriandrum sativum L.; Apocynaceae: Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don., Catharanthus pusillus G. Don.; Verbanaceae: Clerodendron viscosum L., Clerodendron inerme Gaertn., Lantana camara L., Tectona grandis Linn.f.; Cucurbitaceae: Cucurbita maxima Wall, Lagenaria vulgaris Ser., Luffa cylindrica M. Roem., Momordica charantia L.; Myrtaceae: Eucalyptus sp., Psidium guajava L.; Moraceae: Ficus bengalensis L., Ficus religiosa Forsk.; Lythraceae: Lagerstromia sp., Lawsonia alba Lam.; Anacardiaceae: Mangifera indica L.; Oleaceae: Nyctanthes arbortristis L.; Lamiaceae: Ocimum sanctum L.; Annonaceae: Polyalthia longifolia L.; Bignoneaceae: Spathodea campanulata P. Beauv.; Crassulaceae: Kalanchoe serrata Mannoni & Boiteau.

Measurements

Aptera: Length of body 1.49, width 0.82; antennae 1.08, segments III: IV: V: VI 0.42: 0.19: 0.18: (0.12+0.28); u.r.s. 0.14; h.t.2 0.12; siphunculus 0.29; cauda 0.18.
Alata: Length of body 1.59, width 0.61; antennae 1.06, segments III: IV: V: VI 0.21: 0.16: 0.15: (0.11+0.30); u.r.s. 0.10; h.t.2 0.09; siphunculus 0.19; cauda 0.10.

Seasonal occurrence

Throughout the year.

Natural enemies

Coleoptera: Coccinellidae: Anegleis cardoni (Weise), Brumoides suturalis (F.), Callicaria superba (Mulsant), Calvia punctata (Mulsant), Cheilomenes sexmaculata (F.), Coccinella septempuncata L, C. transversalis F., C. undecimpunctata L., Coelophora biplagiata (Swartz), C. bissellata Mulsant, Cryptogonus quadriguttatus (Weise), Cryptolaemus montrouzieri Mulsant, Harmonia dimidiata (F.), H. octomaculata (F.), Hippodamia variegata (Goeze), Hyperaspis maindroni Sicard, Micraspis allardi (Mulsant), Nephus regularis Sicard, Oenopia kirbyi Mulsant, O. quadripunctata Kapur, O. sauzeti Mulsant, Propylea luteopustulata (Mulsant), Platynaspis saundersi Crotch, Priscibrumus uropygialis (Mulsant), Pseudaspidimerus trinotatus (Thunberg), Scymnus (Pullus) pyrocheilus Mulsant, S. (P.) castaneus Sicard, S. (P.) latemaculatus Motschulsky, S. (P.) xerampelinus Mulsant, S. (S.) nubilus Mulsant, Synonycha grandis (Thunberg).

Diptera: Syrphidae: Allograpta javana (Wiedemann), Betasyrphus serarius (Wiedemann), Dideopsis aegrota (F.), Eristalinus laetus Wiedemann, Eupeodes confrater (Wiedemann), Paragus serratus (F.), P. tibialis (Fallen), P. yerburiensis Stuckenberg, Ischiodon scutellaris (F.), Episyrphus balteatus (De Geer), Sphaerophoria ?indiana Bigot.

Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae: Aphelinus gossypii Timberlake, A. mali (Haldeman), A. albipodus Hayat & Fatima.

Braconidae: Aphidiinae: Aphidius colemani Viereck, A. gifuensis Ashmead, A. matricariae Haliday, A. uzbekistanicus Luzhetzki, Binodoxys acalephe Marshall, Cristicaudus nepalensis (Takada), Ephedrus plagiator (Nees), E. persicae Froggatt, Diaeretiella rapae (M'Intosh), Lipolexis scutellaris Mackauer, L. gracilis Forster, Lysaphidus schimitscheki Stary, Praon abjectum (Haliday), Toxares macrosiphophagum Shujauddin, Trioxys indicus Subba Rao & Sharma, T. basicurvus Shujauddin.

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Habitus