Identification key for frequent aphids on Asteraceae

Below you will find frequent aphids for the different crops of Asteraceae.

Vous trouverez ci-dessous les pucerons fréquents pour les différentes cultures d'astéracées.

Sunflower

1

 - On roots, large bulky aphid, whitish and elongate. Apterous with antennae noticeably equal to half the body and legs very long (particularly hind-leg tarsi  ), cornicles absent or reduced to a pore; alate with broad pigmented stripes on abdomen
Trama spp see also Trama (Neotrama) caudata

 - Aphid on aerial parts → 2

2 

 - Apterous yellowish green glossy, cornicles short, conical, cauda short; colony with high-density population hidden in severely crinkled young leaves;  alate with dark dorsal patch, cornicles short and conical, cauda short
Brachycaudus helichrysi

 - Larger species with cornicles medium length to long → 3

3 

 - Apterous with cornicles slightly swollen, green to yellowish with pinkish individuals within the colony, which are the future alates (nymphs), cornicles medium-length, slightly swollen on inner side and darkened at tip;  alate with dorsal patch jagged and perforated, with contour uneven, cornicles uniformly pigmented and slightly swollen, cauda pigmented and digitate
Myzus persicae

 - Large sized species, cornicles long and cylindrical, alate without pigmentation or at most with pigmented stripes → 4

4

 - Apterous green or pink, elongate, large-sized, antennae same length as body and slightly pigmented, cornicles long, cylindrical and darkening towards the tip, cauda long and light-coloured;  alate without abdominal pigmentation, antennae and cornicles darkening towards the tip, cauda long and light-coloured
Macrosiphum euphorbiae

 - Apterous green to yellowish green, glossy, piriform, antennae long, dark green spots at base of cornicles, cornicles light-coloured and straight with an apical flange darker at tip, cauda digitate; alate with stripes more or less dark on abdomen 
Aulacorthum solani

Lettuce, chicory and endive

1

 - Aphid on roots, devoid of cornicles or bearing cornicles reduced to a pore, antennae with processus terminalis very short→ 2

 - Aphid on aerial parts, with cornicles → 3

2

 - Apterous jgreenish to greyish yellow, producing a waxy secretion in the form of fine woolly filaments which finally cover the whole insect, antennae very short, legs short and squat; alate greenish to greyish yellow, producing a waxy secretion in the form of fine woolly filaments which finally cover the whole insect, antennae very short, legs short and squat; 
Pemphigus bursarius

 - Apterous whitish, large-sized, antennae noticeably equal to half the body, legs very long (especially the tarsi on hind-legs), cornicles absent or reduced to a pore;  alate with broad pigmented stripes on abdomen
Trama spp see also Trama (Neotrama) caudata

3

 - Cornicles swollen, alate with a dorsal patch on abdomen → 4

Corniculs cylindrical, alate devoid of pigmentation or with pigmented stripes at the most → 5

4

 - Apterous light green to opaque green, cornicles strongly bulging asymmetrically, antennae pale, darkened at segmental sutures and with terminal segment dark; alate  with a dorsal patch deeply incised and perforated, antennae dark
Hyperomyzus lactucae

 - Apterous light green to opaque green, cornicles strongly bulging asymmetrically, antennae pale, darkened at segmental sutures and with terminal segment dark; alate with a dorsal patch jagged and perforated
 Myzus persicae

5

 - Apterous green or pink, large-sized and elongate, antennae same as length of body and slightly pigmented, cornicles long, cylindrical darkening towards tip, cauda long and light-coloured;    alate  without abdominal pigmentation, antennae and cornicles darkening towards the tip, cauda long and light-coloured
Macrosiphum euphorbiae

 - Apterous green to yellowish green, glossy, piriform, antennae long, spots dark green at base of cornicles, cornicles light-coloured, straight having a dark flange at tip, cauda digitate;  alate with stripes more or less dark on abdomen 
Aulacorthum solani

 - Apterous yellowish to greenish or sometimes pinkish, always glossy, antennae with a long processus terminalis, abdomen with dorsal stripes weakly pigmented, cornicles long, straight, light-coloured and pigmented at tip, cauda digitate; alate with dorsal stripes pigmented, antennae long, fine and dark, cornicles cylindrical, long and dark, cauda digitate and dark
Nasonovia ribisnigri

Artichoke, salsify, black salsify 

1

 - On the roots, very large aphid whitish and elongate. Apterous with antennae noticeably equal to half the body; legs very long (especially the hind-leg tarsi); cornicles absent  or reduced to a pore;  alate with broad stripes pigmented on abdomen
Trama spp see also Trama (Neotrama) caudata

 - Aphid on aerial parts , cornicles present → 2

2

 - Apterous and alate green to yellowish; cornicles long and fine; with numerous hairs on head and abdomen; alate with abdominal patch
Capitophorus horni

 - Aphid with cornicles short to medium-length → 3

3

 - Apterous matt, dark olive green to black, with future alates within the colony showing waxy white stripes; cornicles straight, black; cauda digitate and squat;  alate with a large number of small rhinaria on antennal segment III, some on IV; abdomen with stripes pigmented and contour uneven
Aphis fabae

 - Apterous green to yellowish → 4

4

 - Apterous glossy yellowish green; cornicles short and conical; cauda short; colony with very dense population hidden in artichoke capitula ; alate with a dark dorsal patch; cornicles short and conical; cauda short 
Brachycaudus helichrysi

 - Apterous green, rounded, bulging and adults with a broad brown patch, glossy and compact; cornicles 2-times longer than cauda;  alate with a broad dark patch on dorsal side and lateral spots on segments on ventral side; cornicles straight, medium-sized and black
Brachycaudus cardui

See visual identification identification