Beet-curly-top-virus
Guides
Aphelinoidea
Aphelinoidea is a genus of minute wasps in the family Trichogrammatidae, described by A.A. Girault in 1911. Species are egg parasitoids of leafhoppers (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), with several species of economic importance as biological control agents. The genus has an almost cosmopolitan distribution. Notable hosts include the beet leafhopper (Circulifer tenellus), a vector of beet curly top virus affecting crops such as tomatoes, sugar beets, and peppers. Two species, A. anatolica and A. turanica, were introduced from Iran into California for biological control and became established. The genus reproduces by arrhenotoky, where unmated females produce only male offspring.
Neoaliturus tenellus
Beet Leafhopper
Neoaliturus tenellus, commonly known as the beet leafhopper, is a significant agricultural pest in western North America. This leafhopper species is a documented vector of Candidatus Phytoplasma trifolii (CPt) and beet curly top virus (BCTV), pathogens that affect potato, sugar beet, and other vegetable and seed crops. The species exhibits complex seasonal movement patterns between crop and noncrop hosts, utilizing weedy vegetation for overwintering and summer development. Its population dynamics and pathogen transmission ecology have been studied extensively in the Columbia River Basin and southern New Mexico to improve pest management forecasting.