Abstract
Sixteen cohorts of the brown citrus aphid, Toxoptera citricida, were followed from colony initiation to maturation/extinction in citrus groves at two sites in Puerto Rico and nine sites in Florida, USA. Infested citrus terminals were sampled repeatedly in a non-destructive manner and data recorded on the recruitment of natural enemies and the fate of aphid colonies. Coccinellidae were the most efficient predators of T. citricida, primarily Cycloneda sanguinea, and Coelophora inaequalis (Puerto Rico), C. sanguinea, Harmonia axyridis (Florida). Coccinellids were abundant in citrus year-round in Puerto Rico, but in Florida citrus their abundance peaked in spring and declined thereafter. Syrphid flies were other important predators, especially Pseudodorus clavatus (Florida and Puerto Rico) and Ocyptamus fuscipennis (Puerto Rico). Syrphids increased in abundance from spring to fall in both regions. Other predators included Cereaochrysa lineaticornis, Chrysoperla rufilabris (Chrysopidae) and Micromus posticus (Hemerobiidae). The parasitoid Lysiphlebus testaceipes was ubiquitous in T. citricida cohorts, but its impact on colony survival was usually low. The fungal pathogen Verticillium lecanii was a significant source of colony mortality at one site in Puerto Rico, but was not observed on T. citricida in Florida.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abate, T., 1988. The identity and bionomics of insect vectors of tristeza and greening diseases of Citrus in Ethiopia. Trop. Pest. Man. 34: 19-23.
Anderson, T.J., 1914. Report of the entomologist. Ann. Rep. Dept. Agric. Br. East Africa, 1912–1913: 124-131.
Bartoszeck, A.B., 1980. The occurrence of Toxoptera citricidus (Homoptera: Aphididae) and its natural enemies in Imperatriz, Maranao, Brazil. Dusenia 12: 9-13. (In Portuguese, English summary).
Cappuccino, N., 1988. Spatial patterns of goldenrod aphids and the response of enemies to patch density. Oecologia 76: 607-610.
Carroll, D.P. and S.C. Hoyt, 1984. Natural enemies and their effects on apple aphid, Aphis pomi DeGeer (Homoptera: Aphididae), colonies on young apple trees in central Washington. Environ. Entomol. 13: 469-481.
Catling, H.D., 1970. The bionomics of the South African citrus psylla Trioza erytreae (Del Guercio) (Homoptera: Psyllidae) 4. The influence of predators. J. Entomol. Soc. S. Afr. 33: 341-348.
Chagas, E.F.D., S.S. Neto, A.J.B.P. Braz, C.P.B. Mateus and I.P. Coelho, 1982. Population fluctuations of pest and predator insects in citrus. Pesqui. Agropecu. Bras. 17: 817-824. (In Portuguese).
Colfer, R.F. and J.A. Rosenheim, 1995. Intraguild predation by coccinellid beetles on an aphid parasitoid, Lysiphlebus testaceipes. Proc. Beltwide. Cotton Conf. 2: 1033-1036.
Essig, E.O., 1949. Aphids in relation to quick decline and tristeza of Citrus. Pan. Pac. Entomol. 25: 13-22.
Frazer, B.D. and N. Gilbert, 1976. Coccinellids and aphids: a quantitative study of the impact of adult ladybirds (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) preying on field populations of pea aphids (Homoptera: Aphididae). J. Entomol. Soc. B.C. 73: 33-56.
Galatoire, I., 1983. Vital statistics of Toxopters citricidus (Kirkaldy) (Homoptera; Aphidiae). Rev. Soc. Entomol. Arg. 42: 353-368. (In Spanish).
Goncalves, C.R. and A.J.L. Goncalves, 1976. Observations on syrphid flies as predators of homopterous insects. An. Soc. Entomol. Bras. 5: 3-10. (In Portuguese).
Halbert, S.E. and L.G. Brown, 1996. Toxoptera citricida (Kirkaldy), brown citrus aphid — identification, biology and management strategies. Fla. Dept. Agric. and Cons. Serv., Div. Plant Industry, Entomol. Cir. No. 374.
Hall, W.J., 1930. Notes on the control of some of the more important insect pests of Citrus in Rhodesia. Rhodesia Agric. J. 27: 737-747.
Kato, T., 1968. Outbreaks of aphids and the role of natural enemies in citrus orchards. Odökon Chûgoku 10: 19-23. (In Japanese).
Kato, T., 1969. Specific relation between aphids and their natural enemies in citrus. Odökon Chûgoku 11: 20-23. (In Japanese).
Kidd, N.A.C., 1982. Predator avoidance as a result of aggregation in the grey pine aphid, Schizolachnus pineti. J. Anim. Ecol. 51: 397-412.
Kindlmann, P. and Z. Ruzicka, 1992. Possible consequences of a specific interaction between predators and parasites of aphids. Ecol. Modelling 61: 253-265.
Komazaki, S., 1981. Life cycles and population fluctuations of aphids on citrus. Proc. Int. Soc. Citric. 2: 692-695.
Komazaki, S., 1982. Effects of constant temperatures on population growth of three aphid species, Toxoptera citricidus (Kirkaldi), Aphis citricola van der Goot and Aphis gossypii Glover (Homoptera: Aphididae) on Citrus. Appl. Entomol. Zool. 17: 75-81.
Kristin, A., 1988. Coccinellidae and syrphidae in the food of some birds. In: E. Niemczyk and A.F.G. Dixon (eds), Ecology and Effectiveness of Aphidiophaga. Academic Publishing, The Hague, The Netherlands. pp. 321-324.
Maelzer, D.A., 1978. The growth and voracity of larvae of Leis conformis (Boisd.) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) fed on the rose aphid Macrosiphum rosae (L.) (Hompotera: Aphididae) in the laboratory. Aus. J. Zool. 26: 293-304.
Michaud, J.P., 1994. Differences in foraging behavior between virgin and mated aphid parasitoids, (Hymenoptera: Aphidiidae). Can. J. Zool. 72: 1597-1602.
Michaud, J.P., 1998. A review of the literature on Toxoptera citricida (Kirkaldy). Fla. Entomol. 81: 37-60.
Michaud, J.P., 1999. Aggregation by alatae of Toxoptera citricida (Homoptera: Aphididae). Environ. Entomol. 28: 205-211.
Michaud, J.P., in press. Seasonal abundance of the brown citrus aphid, Toxoptera citricida (Homoptera: Aphidiae), and its natural enemies in Puerto Rico. Fla. Entomol.
Nickel, O. and F. Klingauf, 1985. Biologie und massenwechsel der tropischen citrusblattlaus Toxoptera citricidus in beziehung zu N“utzlingsaktivit” at und klima in Misiones Argentinien (Homoptera: Aphididae). Entomol. Gener. 10: 231-240.
Odebiyi, J.B., 1979. Field populations of Sitobion nigrinectariua Theo. attacking pigeon pea in Kenya. Nig. J. Agri. Sci. 1: 135-139.
Roistacher, C.N. and M. Bar-Joseph, 1987. Aphid transmission of citrus tristeza virus: a review. Phytophylactica 19: 163-167.
Rondón, A., E. Arnal and F. Godoy, 1981. Comportamiento del Verticillium lecanii (Zimm.) Viegas, patogeno del àfido Toxopter citricida (Kirk.) en finca citricolas de Venezuela. Agron. Trop. 30: 201-212.
Rosenheim, J.A., H.K. Kaya, L.E. Ehler, J.J. Marois and B.A. Jafee, 1995. Intraguild predation among biological control agents: theory and evidence. Biol. Con. 5: 303-335.
Shindo, M., 1972. Relation between ants and aphids in a citrus orchard. Proc. Assoc. Pl. Prot. Kyushu 18: 69-71. (In Japanese, English summary).
Symes, C.B., 1924. Notes on the black citrus aphis. Rhodesia Agric. J. 11: 612-626.
Trumble, J.T., 1982. Temporal occurrence, sampling, and within field distribution of aphids on broccoli in coastal California. J. Econ. Entomol. 75: 378-382.
Turchin, P. and P. Kareiva, 1989. Aggregation in Aphis varians: an effective strategy for reducing predation risk. Ecology 70: 1008-1016.
Vinson, S.B. and T.A. Scarborough, 1991. Interactions between Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), Rhopalosiphum maidis (Homoptera: Aphididae), and the parasitoid Lysiphlebus testaceipes Cresson (Hymenoptera: Aphidiidae). Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 84: 158-164.
Yokomi, R.K. and Y.Q. Tang, 1996. A survey of parasitoids of brown citrus aphid (Homoptera: Aphididae) in Puerto Rico. Biol. Con. 6: 222-225.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Michaud, J. Sources of mortality in colonies of brown citrus aphid, Toxoptera citricida. BioControl 44, 347–367 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009955816396
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009955816396