Green Peach Aphid: Myzus persicae

Location: Bunbury

Season: Winter

Class: Insecta 

Order: Hemiptera 

Family: Aphididae

Myzus persicae

Aphids devastate crops but they are fascinating insects with intricate anatomy and a graceful flight. The above is a winged Green Peach Aphid that I found resting on Purple Pea Bush on a sunny winter afternoon. It was hopping from place to place and hopped onto my finger. With a sluggish movement, it rested on my hand for a minute or so and them took off in a flight so sluggish that every step of its flight was easily witnessed.

This insect is yellow in colour with a prominent black area on the dorsum of the mid abdominal segments from 3 to 6. There are laterally placed black bars on the other segments. The limbs, antennae and the head are all dark. The eyes are red. The genus Myzus is identified by convergent antennal tubercles and lack of clavate sipunchuli. 

Green Peach Aphid can affect a wide variety dicotyledon plants including agricultural crops such as potato and peach. Like other aphids they are vectors of various viral diseases of plants. As with aphids in general, in warmer weather they reproduce asexually producing about 12 generations in a year. In colder weather, they reproduce sexually laying eggs on various plants on which the hatched nymphs feed.

Ladybirds, Lacewings are natural predators that are used in biological control of these aphids. 

References:

Aphid ID key

Influential Points

Wikipedia