Uroleucon hypochoeridis

Identification & Distribution:

Uroleucon hypochoeridis is a large pinkish-grey aphid with pale legs that are darkened towards the apices of the segments. Abdominal hairs are placed on scleroites and the crescent-shaped antesiphuncular sclerites are prominent. The coxae are dusky or dark, darker than the basal parts of femora. The cauda is pale usually with about 17 hairs. The apical segment of the rostrum is rarely longer than segment 2 of the hind tarsus (0.84-1.08 times its length). Uroleucon hypochoeridis nymphs are grey with a reddish-pink suffusion around the bases of the siphunculi.

The clarified slide mounts below are of adult viviparous female Uroleucon hypochoeridis : wingless, and winged.

Micrographs of clarified mounts  by permission of Roger Blackman, copyright AWP  all rights reserved.

The large cat's ear aphid lives on the stems of cat's ear (Hypochoeris radicata), autumn hawkbit (Leontodon autumnalis) and related species.

Other aphids on same host:

• Blackman & Eastop list 24 species of aphid  as feeding on cats ear (Hypochoeris radicata) worldwide, and provide formal identification keys.

  Of those aphid species, Baker (2015)  lists 21 as occurring in Britain: Aphis fabae,  Aphis gossypii,  Aphis hypochoeridis, Aphis nasturtii,  Aphis spiraecola,  Aulacorthum palustre,  Aulacorthum solani,  Brachycaudus helichrysi,  Macrosiphum euphorbiae,  Myzus ascalonicus,  Myzus cymbalariae,  Myzus ornatus,  Myzus persicae,  Nasonovia ribisnigri,  Neomyzus circumflexus,  Protaphis picridicola, Trama caudata,  Trama troglodytes,  Uroleucon cichorii,  Uroleucon hypochoeridis and Uroleucon sonchi. 

• Blackman & Eastop list 17 species of aphid  as feeding on autumn hawkbit (Leontodon autumnalis = Scorzoneroides autumnalis) worldwide, and provide formal identification keys.

  Of those aphid species, Baker (2015)  lists 15 as occurring in Britain: Aphis craccivora,  Aphis fabae,  Aphis gossypii,  Aphis nasturtii,  Aphis spiraecola,  Aulacorthum palustre,  Aulacorthum solani,  Hyperomyzus lactucae,  Myzus ascalonicus,  Nasonovia ribisnigri,  Trama caudata,  Trama troglodytes,  Uroleucon cichorii,  Uroleucon hypochoeridis and Uroleucon leontodontis.

Acknowledgements Our particular thanks to Roger Blackman for images of his clarified slide mounts. We have made provisional identifications from high resolution photos of living specimens, along with host plant identity. In the great majority of cases, identifications have been confirmed by microscopic examination of preserved specimens. We have used the keys and species accounts of Blackman & Eastop (1994)  and Blackman & Eastop (2006)  supplemented with Blackman (1974) , Stroyan (1977) , Stroyan (1984) , Blackman & Eastop (1984) , Heie (1980-1995) , Dixon & Thieme (2007)  and Blackman (2010) . We fully acknowledge these authors as the source for the (summarized) taxonomic information we have presented. Any errors in identification or information are ours alone, and we would be very grateful for any corrections. For assistance on the terms used for aphid morphology we suggest the figure  provided by Blackman & Eastop (2006).

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