Russian wheat aphid

Russian wheat aphid
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hemiptera
Suborder:	Homoptera
Superfamily:	Aphidoidea
Family:	Aphididae
Genus:	Diuraphis
Species:	D. noxia
Binomial name
Diuraphis noxia Kurdjumov, 1913

The Russian wheat aphid (Diuraphis noxia) is an aphid that can cause significant losses in cereal crops. The species was introduced to the United States in 1986 and is considered an invasive species there. This aphid is pale green and up to 2 mm long. Cornicles are very short, rounded, and appear to be lacking. There is an appendage above the cauda giving the aphid the appearance of having two tails. The saliva of this aphid is toxic to the plant and causes whitish striping on cereal leaves. Feeding by this aphid will also cause the flag leaf to turn white and curl around the head causing incomplete head emergence. Host plants: cereal grain crops including wheat and barley and to a lesser extent, wild grasses such as wheatgrasses, brome-grasses or ryegrasses.

External links

• Species Profile- Russian Wheat Aphid (Diuraphis noxia), National Invasive Species Information Center, United States National Agricultural Library. Lists general information and resources for Russian Wheat Aphid.
• Russian Wheat Aphid