The English grain aphid (''Sitobion avenae'') is an

aphid Aphids are small sap-sucking insects and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. The group includes the fluffy white woolly aphids. A t ...

in the superfamily Aphidoidea in the order Hemiptera. It is a true bug and sucks sap from plants. It lives on grasses, sedge and rushes and can be a significant pest of cereals. This species act as a host of the entomophthoralean fungi.

Parthenogenesis

Some genotypes of ''S avenae'' are obligate parthenogens and some are cyclical parthenogens.Dedryver CA, Le Gallic JF, Mahéo F, Simon JC, Dedryver F. The genetics of obligate parthenogenesis in an aphid species and its consequences for the maintenance of alternative reproductive modes. Heredity (Edinb). 2013 Jan;110(1):39-45. doi: 10.1038/hdy.2012.57. Epub 2012 Sep 19. PMID: 22990313; PMCID: PMC3522239 Cyclically parthenogenetic lines can reproduce parthenogenetically in the spring and summer. Production of sexual females and males is induced during autumn by decreasing day length and decreasing temperature. Mating followed by egg laying occurs on grasses ( Poaceae) during late November. Eggs can overwinter with delayed development (

diapause In animal dormancy, diapause is the delay in development in response to regular and recurring periods of adverse environmental conditions.Tauber, M.J., Tauber, C.A., Masaki, S. (1986) ''Seasonal Adaptations of Insects''. Oxford University Press I ...

), and then, after being exposed to cold for two or three months, can hatch spontaneously and initiate the next cycle of clonal reproduction.

References

* http://aphid.aphidnet.org/Sitobion_avenae.php * http://www7.inra.fr/hyppz/RAVAGEUR/6sitave.htm * http://www.agroatlas.ru/en/content/pests/Sitobion_avenae/ * http://entoweb.okstate.edu/ddd/insects/englishgrainaphid.htm Agricultural pest insects Macrosiphini Insect pests of millets Fauna of the United Kingdom {{Aphididae-stub