Rothamsted Insect Survey logo - click for home page
  • Contact us
  • Suction Trapping
  • Aphid bulletin
  • Graphical data
  • Bulletin archive
  • Sponsors
  • Trap sites
  • Aphid species
  • EXAMINE
  • Light Trapping
  • Newsletters and articles
  • Trap sites
  • Vertical-Looking Radar
  • Introduction
  • Environmental Change Network
  • Introduction

    • Rothamsted Insect Survey,
    Department of Plant and Invertebrate Ecology,
    Rothamsted Research,
    Harpenden,
    Hertfordshire,
    AL5 2JQ
    Tel: + 44 (0) 1582 763 133
    Fax: + 44 (0) 1582 760 981

    BBSRC home page

    The Insect Survey is a national capability funded by the BBSRC

    		  
    Acyrthosiphon pisum
    Acyrthosiphon pisum

    Pea aphid

  • Graphical data

    • Appearance

    The adult wingless form is rather large, at 2.5 - 4.4mm long, and usually either pale green or pink. It has long slender appendages, including two long pale slender tubes (siphunculi) at the rear end and a long pale tail (cauda). The winged form is also large at 2.3 - 4.3mm long.

    Host plants/Life cycle

    This aphid spends all year living on leguminous plants. Eggs and active forms overwinter low down on various clovers, lucerne, sainfoin and trefoils. The eggs hatch in February and March, and winged forms are produced during May, which then migrate to peas and other legumes. Numbers usually reach a peak in late June and early July, although populations can remain noticeable on successive sowings of peas through to early autumn. There is a small autumn migration in late September back to the overwintering sites.

    Pest status/damage

    This aphid is generally a moderate pest on peas, only occasionally causing major damage. It causes direct feeding damage by feeding on the young growing points of peas, causing stunting, and subsequent distortion and yellowing of leaves and pods. The crops beginning to flower are most susceptible, especially if this coincides with the population peak in late June/early July. Heavy infestation on culinary peas can significantly reduce yields. This species also merits pest status because of its ability to transmit more than 30 plant viruses, in particular Pea leaf roll virus, Pea enation mosaic virus, Pea mosaic virus and Pea seed borne mosaic virus. It is also known to cause economic damage to field beans by the transmission of Bean leaf roll virus.

  • Back to Aphids

    • Rothamsted Research provides no express or implied warranties of any kind, including but not limited to those of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement of the proprietary rights, such as copyrights, patents and trade secrets, of third parties. Rothamsted Research makes every effort to ensure the quality and accuracy of the material on these web pages. However, it accepts no liability for the contents of these web pages, including any third party material.