In my experiments we used an area formed by a central plant, which was the aphid´s focus, and in the surrounding area (1m2) we used 44 plant of lettuce. The central plant was around 3-4 weeks older than the surrounding plants. I would like to know how this difference in plant age could affect the movement of M. euphorbiae from this central plant to the other plants. Any suggestions?
Dear Calvo,
Form my little experience about potato aphid Macrosiphum euphorbiae as I am just doing some behavioural studies. M. euphorbiae prefers the lower surface than the upper and old leaves than new ones. Hopefully this helps.
Best regards,
Islam
Thank you Islam for your contribution. I am agree with you. I have also observed that macrosiphum prefer the old leaves rather than young ones, which does not mean that it stay always in older leaves, sometimes in the same plant the aphid shift from young to older or older to young leaves.
In your experience, do you think that if we offer to the adult aphid young plant and old plant, the adult will prefer to migrate from the older to the younger plant (in general terms). I think some adults move from the old to the younger plants, feed during a short period of time, enough to let there some nymphs and then move to other plant, in my case the older one.
you can contact Andy at this email [email protected]
http://entomology.osu.edu/our-people/andrew-michel
I think he has good information about aphids
We are studying the distribution and dispersal of several aphid spp in raspberry polytunnels. Macrosiphon on raspberry prefers the upper leaves and feeds on the underside. Amphorophora also prefers the upper leaves (actively growing, so higher in nutrients like amino acids). Normal M. euphorbiae invades polytunnels earlier than A. idaei, peaks earlier and crashes earlier. Different parasitoid spp attack each aphid spp in our system, but generalist predators like hoverflies and ladybirds attack both speciesaccording to abundance. Host plant resistance genes affect the two aphid spp differently too - so it is complex but very interesting. I hope this helps you.
I am totally agreed with Reki about the host plant quality (age-size-variety).
Here you are a good reference might help” Reinink, K and F. L. Dieleman. 1989. Resistance in Lettuce to the Leaf Aphids Macrosiphum euphorbiae and Uroleucon sonchi. Ann. Appl. Biol. 115(3): 489-498”
Thank you Nick for tour answer. It es interesting to read about other host plantas and how this aphid species is able to use resources in a very different way. In lettuce it is appear in the low leaves. Do you have any data about the adult morph that first appear in the tunnels. I mean, do you find only wing adults or also appear wingless adults in the first colonies?. And it is normal in this first aphids colonies to find only nymphs without any adults.
Regarding dispersal, M. euporbiae seems to move between crops (eg from protected raspberries to open field potato. I don't know what triggers this apparent host switching, although it could just be due to coincidental population declines on an eearly crop and increase on a later crop.
You could also study production of wingeed (alate) forms in relation to dispersal triggered by stressors like crowding, nutrient depletion, natural enemy activity, etc.
Hi Nick. In lettuce, Macrosiphum produce practically the same proportion of winged and wingless adults. We have observed this in the field, where we first though that was a consequence of the stressors that you mention. But then we did laboratory experiments in order to evaluate the performance parameters of this aphid, and we also found that the proportion of adult morphs was very similiar. This is part of a inminent paper we have ready to publish.
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