The Indian grain aphid (''Sitobion miscanthi''), also known as ''Sitobion (Sitobion) miscanthi'', 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 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. ...

. It is a true bug and sucks sap from cereal plants, making it a pest of

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

production. It has also been recorded as a pest of

finger millet ''Eleusine coracana'', or finger millet, also known as ragi in India, kodo in Nepal, is an annual herbaceous plant widely grown as a cereal crop in the arid and semiarid areas in Africa and Asia. It is a tetraploid and self-pollinating species p ...

sorghum ''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many othe ...

, and

pearl millet Pearl millet (''Cenchrus americanus'', commonly known as the synonym ''Pennisetum glaucum''; also known as 'Bajra' in Hindi, 'Sajje' in Kannada, 'Kambu' in Tamil, 'Bajeer' in Kumaoni and 'Maiwa' in Hausa, 'Mexoeira' in Mozambique) is the most w ...

in South Asia. A high-quality draft of the ''S. miscanthi'' genome 377.19 Mb in size was sequenced to help promote research on the lifestyle and feeding specificity of aphids and their interactions with each other and species at other trophic levels.

References

* http://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/51740 * http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Sitobion_miscanthi/classification/ * http://www.plantwise.org/KnowledgeBank/Datasheet.aspx?dsid=51740 Agricultural pest insects Insects described in 1921 Macrosiphini Insect pests of millets Hemiptera of Asia {{Aphididae-stub