Sugar Root Aphid – Pempighus populivenae
Sugar Root Aphid (Pempighus populivenae)
Latin Name: (Pempighus populivenae)
Common Name: Sugar beet root aphid
Appearance:
- The heads and thorax of winged aphids are black, while the rest of their bodies are green. Rather than the primary store root, the aphid is connected with fibrous roots.
- The wingless forms on roots are yellowish and produce a soft, white waxy material that makes the source look mealy.
- Populus L. poplars are the ideal primary hosts, with annual or biennial plants such as sugar beets and certain weed species serving as secondary hosts.
- Secondary hosts contain sugar beetroots, pigweed, foxtail, dock, and a few other plants, on which the aphids will feed and breed throughout the bulk of the growing season.
- Eggs are placed in the major host trees’ bark and other fissures.
- Larvae grow inside galls that form on the midribs of the leaves and are less than 2mm long, comparable to wingless adults.
- Adults with winged aphid heads and thoraxes are black, while the rest of their bodies are green. The aphid is linked to fibrous roots rather than the major storage root.
- The wingless forms on roots are yellowish and create a soft, white waxy substance that gives the source a mealy appearance.