Apple Aphid

Apple Aphid 

the name for any of a group of aphids that damage apple trees. The group mainly includes species of the family Aphididae that are distributed in apple-growing regions.

The apple aphid (Aphis pomi) is green, with a cinnamon tinge on its head. It produces six to 19 generations annually. The insects live in colonies. They are especially harmful to young leaves and shoots in nurseries and orchards. The leaves of the apple tree curl, and the shoots are misshapen. Dysaphis mali is a dirty green with a violet tinge; it has a powdery white coating on top. It causes the leaves to curl into compact tubules and also harms fruit buds. Massive reproduction results in the falling of the ovary, deformation of fruits, and development of smut. Apple leaves infected by another common aphid of the genus Dysaphis display galls in the form of lateral folds or tubes, which may be red, yellow, or light green in color. Rhopalosiphum insertum is yellow-green with three longitudinal green stripes. In its first to third generation it harms apple trees, and in the second or third it migrates to cereal grasses.

Control measures consist in the use of such natural enemies of the aphids as ladybugs, goldeneyes, and ichneumon flies. It is also helpful to spray trees with insecticides.