In a collaboration with colleagues at the University of Budapest, University of Copenhagen researchers have analysed and compared a number of samples of green aphids from apples around the world and discovered a new apple-loving pest in Denmark.
In a collaboration with colleagues at the University of Budapest, University of Copenhagen researchers have analysed and compared a number of samples of green aphids from apples around the world and discovered a new apple-loving pest in Denmark.
The bright greenish yellow spirea aphid—Aphis spiraecola— which most likely originates in East Asia, has gradually become a widespread pest in tropical and temperate regions around the planet. While it is especially problematic for citrus and apple trees, it can attack many other plant species. The aphid has been in the United States for the last 100 years and was discovered in Mediterranean countries in 1939. However, the spirea aphid has never been witnessed in the Nordic countries before.
"It is a serious pest that is more well known in countries a touch warmer than Denmark and is particularly harmful to citrus crops. It was identified in Germany in 2000, and the Baltic states a few years later. Now, it is here in Denmark. So, this is definitely something that we need to keep an eye on, as it could prove to be problematic for Danish apple growers," warns Associate Professor Lene Sigsgaard of the University of Copenhagen’s Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences.
Read more at: University of Copenhagen
Whether the discovery of this aphid in Denmark is an isolated incident, or if the species has made itself at home due to a milder climate, remains unknown to the researchers. Closer investigation is needed. (Photo Credit: UCPH/Uni.Budapest)
