The black bean aphid (''Aphis fabae'') is a small black insect in the genus ''
Aphis
''Aphis'' is a genus of insects in the family Aphididae containing at least 600 species of aphids. It includes many notorious agricultural pests, such as the soybean aphid '' Aphis glycines''. Many species of ''Aphis'', such as '' A. coreopsidis ...
'', with a broad, soft body, a member of the
order
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
* Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...
Hemiptera
Hemiptera (; ) is an order (biology), order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising over 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, Reduviidae, assassin bugs, Cimex, bed bugs, and shield bugs. ...
. Other common names include blackfly, bean aphid, and beet leaf aphid. In the warmer months of the year, it is found in large numbers on the undersides of leaves and on the growing tips of
host
A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it.
Host may also refer to:
Places
* Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County
People
*Jim Host (born 1937), American businessman
* Michel Host ...
plants, including various agricultural crops and many wild and ornamental plants. Both winged and wingless forms exist, and at this time of year, they are all females. They suck
sap
Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant.
Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a separa ...
from stems and leaves and cause distortion of the shoots, stunted plants, reduced yield, and spoiled crops. This aphid also acts as a
vector
Vector most often refers to:
*Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction
*Vector (epidemiology), an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism
Vector may also refer to:
Mathematic ...
for
viruses
A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea.
Since Dmitri Ivanovsky's 1 ...
that cause plant disease, and the honeydew it secretes may encourage the growth of
sooty mould
Sooty mold (also spelled sooty mould) is a collective term for different Ascomycete fungi, which includes many genera, commonly ''Cladosporium'' and ''Alternaria''. It grows on plants and their fruit, but also environmental objects, like fences, ...
. It breeds profusely by live birth, but its numbers are kept in check, especially in the later part of the summer, by various predatory and parasitic insects. Ants feed on the honeydew it produces, and take active steps to remove the aphid's enemies. It is a widely distributed pest of agricultural crops and can be controlled by chemical or biological means. In the autumn, winged forms move to different host plants, where both males and females are produced. These mate and the females lay eggs which
overwinter
Overwintering is the process by which some organisms pass through or wait out the winter season, or pass through that period of the year when "winter" conditions (cold or sub-zero temperatures, ice, snow, limited food supplies) make normal activi ...
.
Taxonomy
The specific name of the black bean aphid, ''fabae'' comes from the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''
faba
''Vicia faba'', commonly known as the broad bean, fava bean, or faba bean, is a species of vetch, a flowering plant in the pea and bean family Fabaceae. It is widely cultivated as a crop for human consumption, and also as a cover crop. Varieti ...
'' meaning a "bean", a plant on which this aphid often feeds. ''Aphis fabae'' is in the superfamily Aphidoidea and the subgenus ''Aphis''.
Some taxonomists consider it a group of related species, or possibly biotypes.
Fauna Europaea Fauna Europaea is a database of the scientific names and distribution of all living multicellular European land and fresh-water animals. It serves as a standard taxonomic source for animal taxonomy within the Pan-European Species directories Infras ...
lists six subspecies:
*''A. f. cirsiiacanthoidis''
*''A. f. eryngii''
*''A. f. evonymi''
*''A. f. fabae''
*''A. f. mordvilkoi''
*''A. f. solanella''
Description
The black bean aphid is a small, soft-bodied (meaning that the exocuticle part of the exoskeleton is greatly reduced) insect that has specialised piercing and sucking mouthparts which are used to suck the juice from plants. This aphid is usually seen in large numbers and is a tiny, plump insect about two millimetres long with a small head and bulbous abdomen. The body is blackish or dark green in colour. Many adults are devoid of wings, a state known as
aptery
Aptery is the anatomical condition of an animal completely lacking any kind of wings. An animal with this condition is said to be apterous.
Most animal species belong to and are phylogenetic descendants of apterous taxa. These groups are said to ...
. Winged forms, known as
alate
Alate (Latin ''ālātus'', from ''āla'' (“wing”)) is an adjective and noun used in entomology and botany to refer to something that has wings or winglike structures.
In entomology
In entomology, "alate" usually refers to the winged form o ...
s, are longer and more slender than aptates and have shiny black heads and thoraxes. The membranous wings of the alates are held angled over the body. The antennae are less than two-thirds of the length of the body and both they and the legs are pale yellow in colour with black tips. The
tibia
The tibia (; ), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outside of the tibia); it connects ...
e of the hind legs are swollen in egg-laying females. Near the rear of the abdomen is a pair of slender, elongated tubes known as
cornicle
The cornicle (or siphuncule) is one of a pair of small upright backward-pointing tubes found on the dorsal side of the 5th or 6th abdominal segments of aphids. They are sometimes mistaken for cerci. They are no more than pores in some species.
...
s or siphunculi. Their function is the production of a defensive waxy secretion. They are twice as long as the finger-like tail and both are brownish-black.
eggs
Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...
are laid on these by winged females in the autumn. The adults then die and the eggs overwinter. The aphids that hatch from these eggs in the spring are wingless females known as stem mothers. These are able to reproduce asexually, giving birth to live offspring,
nymphs
A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are typ ...
, through
parthenogenesis
Parthenogenesis (; from the Greek grc, παρθένος, translit=parthénos, lit=virgin, label=none + grc, γένεσις, translit=génesis, lit=creation, label=none) is a natural form of asexual reproduction in which growth and development ...
. The lifespan of a parthenogenetic female is about 50 days and during this period, each can produce as many as 30 young. The offspring are also females and able to reproduce without mating, but further generations are usually winged forms. These migrate to their secondary host plants, completely different species that are typically herbaceous plants with soft, young growth.
Further parthenogenesis takes place on these new hosts on the undersides of leaves and on the growing tips. All the offspring are female at this time of year and large populations of aphids develop rapidly with both winged and wingless forms produced throughout the summer. Winged individuals develop as a response to overcrowding and they disperse to new host plants and other crops. By midsummer, the number of
predators
Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill the ...
and
parasite
Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has ...
s has built up and aphid populations cease to expand. As autumn approaches, the winged forms migrate back to the primary host plants. Here, both males and sexual females are produced parthogenetically, mating takes place, and these females lay eggs in crevices and under
lichen
A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship. More than 40% of the eggs probably survive the winter, but some are eaten by birds or flower bugs, and others fail to hatch in the spring.
Host plants
The black bean aphid can feed on a wide variety of host plants. Its primary hosts on which the eggs overwinter are shrubs such as the spindle tree (''
Euonymus europaeus
''Euonymus europaeus'', the spindle, European spindle, or common spindle, is a species of flowering plant in the family (biology), family Celastraceae, native plant, native to much of Europe, where it inhabits the edges of forest, hedges and gent ...
''), ''
Viburnum
''Viburnum'' is a genus of about 150–175 species of flowering plants in the moschatel family Adoxaceae. Its current classification is based on molecular phylogeny. It was previously included in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae.
The membe ...
'' species, or the mock-orange (''
Philadelphus
''Philadelphus'' () (mock-orange) is a genus of about 60 species of shrubs from 3–20 ft (1–6 m) tall, native to North America, Central America, Asia and (locally) in southeast Europe.
They are named "mock-orange" in reference to their ...
'' species). Its secondary hosts, on which it spends the summer, include a number of crops including
sugar beet
A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and which is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet (''Beta vulgaris''). Together wi ...
s,
spinach
Spinach (''Spinacia oleracea'') is a leafy green flowering plant native to central and western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common edible vegetable consumed either f ...
,
beans
A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes th ...
,
runner beans
''Phaseolus coccineus'', known as runner bean, scarlet runner bean, or multiflora bean, is a plant in the legume family, Fabaceae. Another common name is butter bean, which, however, can also refer to the lima bean, a different species.
It is ...
,
celery
Celery (''Apium graveolens'') is a marshland plant in the family Apiaceae that has been cultivated as a vegetable since antiquity. Celery has a long fibrous stalk tapering into leaves. Depending on location and cultivar, either its stalks, lea ...
,
potato
The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae.
Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...
es,
sunflower
The common sunflower (''Helianthus annuus'') is a large annual forb of the genus ''Helianthus'' grown as a crop for its edible oily seeds. Apart from cooking oil production, it is also used as livestock forage (as a meal or a silage plant), as ...
s,
carrot
The carrot ('' Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in color, though purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the wild carrot, ''Daucus carota'', nat ...
s,
artichoke
The globe artichoke (''Cynara cardunculus'' var. ''scolymus'' ),Rottenberg, A., and D. Zohary, 1996: "The wild ancestry of the cultivated artichoke." Genet. Res. Crop Evol. 43, 53–58. also known by the names French artichoke and green articho ...
s,
tobacco
Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
, and
tomato
The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...
es. It colonises more than 200 different species of cultivated and wild plants. Among the latter, it shows a preference for poppies (''
Papaver
''Papaver'' is a genus of 70–100 species of frost-tolerant annuals, biennials, and perennials native to temperate and cold regions of Eurasia, Africa and North America. It is the type genus of the poppy family, Papaveraceae.
Description
The ...
Chenopodium album
''Chenopodium album'' is a fast-growing weedy annual plant in the genus ''Chenopodium''. Though cultivated in some regions, the plant is elsewhere considered a weed. Common names include lamb's quarters, melde, goosefoot, wild spinach and fat-h ...
''), saltbush (''
Atriplex rosea
''Atriplex rosea'' is a species of saltbush known by the common names tumbling saltbush, red orach, redscale and tumbling orach (; also spelled orache). It is native to Eurasia but it is widespread elsewhere as an introduced species.
This is an ...
''), chamomile (''
Matricaria chamomilla
''Matricaria chamomilla'' (synonym: ''Matricaria recutita''), commonly known as chamomile (also spelled camomile), German chamomile, Hungarian chamomile (kamilla), wild chamomile, blue chamomile, or scented mayweed, is an annual plant of the com ...
''), thistles (''
Cirsium arvense
''Cirsium arvense'' is a perennial species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native throughout Europe and western Asia, northern Africa and widely introduced elsewhere.Joint Nature Conservation Committee''Cirsium arvense'' The standa ...
''), and docks (''
Rumex
The docks and sorrels, genus ''Rumex'', are a genus of about 200 species of annual, biennial, and perennial herbs in the buckwheat family, Polygonaceae.
Members of this genus are very common perennial herbs with a native almost worldwide distribu ...
'' spp.).
Two conflicting factors are involved in host preferences, the species and the age of the leaf. Offered spindle and beet leaves on growing plants throughout the year, winged aphids moved from one to the other depending on the active growth state of each and the senescence of each host plant. Thus, in late summer and autumn, the beet leaves were old and unattractive to the aphids in comparison with the leaves of the spindle, whereas in spring, the young unfolding leaves of the beet were more attractive than those of the spindle.
Damage
The black bean aphid is a major pest of sugar beet, bean, and celery crops, with large numbers of aphids cause stunting of the plants. Beans suffer damage to flowers and pods which may not develop properly. Early-sown crops may avoid significant damage if they have already flowered before the number of aphids builds up in the spring. Celery can be heavily infested. The plants are stunted by the removal of sap, the stems are distorted, harmful viruses are transmitted, and aphid residues may contaminate the crop.
As a result of infestation by this aphid, leaves of sugar beet become swollen, roll, and cease developing. The roots grow poorly and the
sugar
Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...
content is reduced. In some other plants, the leaves do not become distorted, but growth is affected and flowers abort due to the action of the toxic
saliva
Saliva (commonly referred to as spit) is an extracellular fluid produced and secreted by salivary glands in the mouth. In humans, saliva is around 99% water, plus electrolytes, mucus, white blood cells, epithelial cells (from which DNA can be ...
injected by the aphid to improve the flow of sap.
To obtain enough
protein
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...
, aphids need to suck large volumes of sap. The excess sugary fluid, honeydew, is secreted by the aphids. It adheres to plants, where it promotes growth of
sooty mold
Sooty mold (also spelled sooty mould) is a collective term for different Ascomycete fungi, which includes many genera, commonly ''Cladosporium'' and ''Alternaria''. It grows on plants and their fruit, but also environmental objects, like fences, ...
s. These are unsightly, reduce the surface area of the plant available for
photosynthesis
Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy that, through cellular respiration, can later be released to fuel the organism's activities. Some of this chemical energy is stored i ...
and may reduce the value of the crop. These aphids are also the vectors of about 30
plant virus
Plant viruses are viruses that affect plants. Like all other viruses, plant viruses are obligate intracellular parasites that do not have the molecular machinery to replicate without a host. Plant viruses can be pathogenic to higher plants.
M ...
es, mostly of the nonpersistent variety. The aphids may not be the original source of infection, but are instrumental in spreading the virus through the crop. Various chemical treatments are available to kill the aphids and organic growers can use a solution of soft soap.
Ecology
Natural
predators
Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill the ...
of black bean aphids include both adults and larvae of
ladybird
Coccinellidae () is a widespread family of small beetles ranging in size from . They are commonly known as ladybugs in North America and ladybirds in Great Britain. Some entomologists prefer the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles as they ...
s and
lacewing
The insect order Neuroptera, or net-winged insects, includes the lacewings, mantidflies, antlions, and their relatives. The order consists of some 6,000 species. Neuroptera can be grouped together with the Megaloptera and Raphidioptera in t ...
s and the larvae of
hoverflies
Hover flies, also called flower flies or syrphid flies, make up the insect family Syrphidae. As their common name suggests, they are often seen hovering or nectaring at flowers; the adults of many species feed mainly on nectar and pollen, whi ...
. Certain species of tiny
parasitic
Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has c ...
wasp
A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. Th ...
s lay their eggs inside aphids and the developing wasp larvae devour their hosts from inside. Members of the wasp genera '' Diaeretiella'' and '' Lysiphlebus'' behave in this way and may provide a measure of control of the aphids.
Ants climb the host plants and feed on the honeydew secreted by the aphids. Many species of ants have developed behaviours to enable them to protect and encourage their aphids. Black garden ants (''
Lasius niger
)
, official_languages =
, languages_type = National languagesVicia faba
''Vicia faba'', commonly known as the broad bean, fava bean, or faba bean, is a species of vetch, a flowering plant in the pea and bean family Fabaceae. It is widely cultivated as a crop for human consumption, and also as a cover crop. Variet ...
''), plants without black bean aphids yielded an average of 56 seeds per plant, those with aphids and no ants yielded 17 seeds, and those with both ants and aphids averaged only 8 seeds per plant.
Distribution
The black bean aphid may have originated in Europe and Asia, but it is now one of the most widely distributed species of aphids. It is found throughout temperate areas of Western Europe, Asia, and North America and in the cooler parts of Africa, the Middle East, and South America. In the warmer parts of its range, apterous individuals can survive the winter and they may continue to reproduce asexually all year round. It is known to be migratory.