Uroleucon pulicariae

Identification & Distribution

Adult apterae of Uroleucon pulicariae (see pictures below) are dark reddish-brown with black siphunculi and a pale yellow cauda. The femora are pale on the basal half and dark on the distal half. The tibiae are mainly pale, and are dark only at the base and apex. The body length of adult apterae is 2.8-3.1 mm.

Images above copyright Slobodan Stevčić, all rights reserved.

Uroleucon pulicariae feeds on the stems of fleabanes (Inula and Pulicaria species). It is found across continental Europe and Central Asia, and is also recorded from North Korea.

Other aphids on the same host

• Uroleucon pulicariae has been recorded from 5 Inula species (Inula britannica, Inula caspica, Inula conyza, Inula salicina, Inula stricta).

  Blackman & Eastop list 11 species of aphid as feeding on those Inula species worldwide, and provide formal identification keys.

  Of those, Baker (2015) lists 4 as occurring in Britain: Aphis fabae, Brachycaudus cardui Brachycaudus helichrysi and Ovatus inulae.

Uroleucon pulicariae has not been recorded from Britain.

• Uroleucon pulicariae has been recorded from 2 Pulicaria species (Pulicaria dysenterica, Pulicaria vulgaris).

  Blackman & Eastop list 11 species of aphid worldwide as feeding on those Pulicaria species and provide formal identification keys.

  Of those, Baker (2015) lists 6 as occurring in Britain: Aphis fabae, Aulacorthum solani, Brachycaudus helichrysi, Myzus ornatus, Myzus persicae and Ovatus inulae.

Acknowledgements We are extremely grateful to Slobodan Stevčić for the images of Uroleucon pulicariae in Serbia, and to Mihajlo Tomić for putting us in touch. 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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