Black Bean Aphid

Pronunciation

How to pronounce Aphis fabae: //ˈæfɪs ˈfeɪ.baɪ//

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Summary

Aphis fabae, known as the Black Bean Aphid, is a significant agricultural pest with a complex life cycle that includes both asexual and sexual reproduction. It primarily feeds on the sap of various plants and can transmit viruses while causing significant economic impacts through crop damage.

Physical Characteristics

Wingless adults are 1.8-3.1 mm long with an ovoid body, typically green-brown or black. They possess big marginal tubercles on the prothorax and on abdominal segments I and VII. Legs and antennae are light yellow, and the tarsi are brown-black. Winged females (alates) have shiny black heads and thoraxes, with a black-green abdomen.

Identification Tips

Look for small black insects on the undersides of leaves of host plants, characterized by a broad, soft body. Presence of cornicles near the rear of the abdomen, which produce waxy secretions, is also a key identifying feature.

Habitat

Found in various agricultural crops and wild and ornamental plants, typically on the undersides of leaves and growing tips.

Distribution

Native to Europe, introduced to North America in the late 1860s. Found throughout temperate areas including Western Europe, Asia, North America, and cooler parts of Africa, the Middle East, and South America.

Diet

Sucks sap from stems and leaves of host plants, which includes a wide variety of cultivated and wild plants.

Life Cycle

Undergoes both sexual and asexual reproduction; overwinters as eggs on primary host, produces parthenogenetic wingless females in the spring, and migrates to secondary hosts in summer, returning to primary hosts in autumn to reproduce sexually.

Reproduction

Primarily reproduces through parthenogenesis during the summer, producing live young. In autumn, both male and female forms are produced that mate and lay eggs for overwintering.

Predators

Natural predators include ladybirds, lacewings, lacewing larvae, and parasitic wasps such as Diaeretiella and Lysiphlebus which develop within aphids.

Ecosystem Role

Acts as a pest in agricultural systems, can be a vector for plant viruses, and produces honeydew that affects the growth of sooty mold on plants.

Economic Impact

Major pest of sugar beet, beans, and celery crops, leading to stunted growth, reduced crop yield, and contamination of crops.

Collecting Methods

• Hand collection from host plants
• Yellow sticky traps to monitor populations

Preservation Methods

• Ethanol fixation
• Freezing specimens

Evolution

Considered part of the superfamily Aphidoidea, with some taxonomists grouping them as related species or biotypes. Includes several recognized subspecies.

Similar Taxa

• Aphis gossypii (Cotton Aphid)
• Aphis mellifera (Honeydew Aphid)

Misconceptions

Often mistaken for similar aphid species; its plant damage is sometimes attributed to other pests.

Tags

• Aphid
• Pest
• Agriculture
• Plant Disease
• Insect