Uroleucon telekiae

Identification & Distribution

Adult apterae of Uroleucon telekiae (see two largest aphids in first picture below) are reddish black to dark bronze, with antennae black except for segment III and the basal part of segment IV, black siphunculi and pale or slightly dusky cauda. The tibiae have a pale middle part (cf. Uroleucon inulicola, which has entirely black tibiae). The antennae are 1.05-1.45 times as long as the body, with the terminal process 5-6 times as long as the base of antennal segment VI. There are 6-25 secondary rhinaria on antennal segment III, which are very variable in size and scattered on the basal 0.33-0.5 of theat segment. The rostrum reaches behind the hind coxae. The apical rostral segment is 1.50-1.67 times as long as the second hind tarsal segment. First tarsal segments have 3,3,3 hairs (fore,mid,hind). Siphunculi are 0.32-0.37 times the body length, 2.0-2.4 times the length of the cauda, with the apical 0.17-0.25 reticulated. The cauda is distinctly pointed with 20-26 hairs. Body length of adult Uroleucon telekiae apterae is 3.0-4.6 mm.

The alate Uroleucon telekiae is dark bronze. The antennae are completely dark, 1.0-1.3 times body length, and with a terminal process about 5.5 times the base of antennal segment VI. There are 42-55 secondary rhinaria distributed over almost the entire length of antennal segment III. The siphunculi are 2.4-3.0 times the caudal length. Fourth instars (see second picture above) appear to have a dusky tip to the cauda.

Uroleucon telekiae is monoecious on the apical parts of yellow oxeye (Telekia speciosa). Feeding by the aphid causes deformation of the young leaves. It is holocyclic, with oviparae and alate males occurring in October. The species is found over much of Europe extending into Turkey, but not in northern Europe nor in Britain. It's presence in some countries (e.g. Denmark) almost certainly results from introduction of infested plants by the plant trade.

Other aphids on the same host

Uroleucon telekiae has been recorded from 1 Telekia species (Telekia speciosa).

Blackman & Eastop list 4 species of aphid as feeding on Telekia speciosa worldwide, and provide formal identification keys (Show World list). Of those aphid species, Baker (2015) lists 3 as occurring in Britain (Show British list).

Acknowledgements We are grateful to Donald Holman for making his images of Uroleucon telekiae available for use under a creative commons licence (CC0, no rights reserved). We have used the species accounts given by Holman (1965) (as Dactynotus telekiae) and Heie (1995), together with information from Roger Blackman & Victor Eastop in Aphids on Worlds Plants. We fully acknowledge these authors and those listed in the reference sections as the source for the (summarized) taxonomic information we have presented. Any errors in 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).

Useful weblinks

References  Heie, O.E. (1995). The Aphidoidea (Hemiptera) of Fennoscandia and Denmark. Part 3 of the tribe Macrosiphini of subfamily Aphidinae, and family Lachnidae. Fauna Entomologica Scandinavica 31. E.J. Brill.  Holman, J. (1965). Description of two new Dactynotus species (Homoptera, Aphididae). Acta Entomologica Bohemoslovaca 62(3), 195-201. (p. 198)