The Colonizing Routes of Aphis gossypii (Hemiptera: Aphididae) to Mandarine Citrus Trees Grown in a Non-heating Plastic-film House During the Early Season

The cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii Glover (Hemiptera: Aphididae) infests citrus orchards, causing sooty mold damage to the fruits. This study was conducted to investigate the colonizing route of A. gossypii in citrus orchards in a non-heating plastic-film house during the early season. The overwintering eggs of the aphids are frequently found on summer shoots of the citrus trees. The eggs were mostly those of Aphis citricola, without any A. gossypii when hatched. The colonization of citrus trees by alate A. gossypii in non-heating plastic-film houses was mainly observed twice, with advanced flight in late April and delayed flight in late May. The delayed flight was synchronized with the timing of the emergence of alate A. gossypii from the fundatrix generation in the holocyclic life cycle. During advanced flight in closed citrus orchards, alate A. gossypii were caught in yellow water traps installed in the fields, and the populations were found to originate from the surviving populations of the anholocyclic life cycle. Consequently, we concluded that citrus tree colonization with A. gossypii occurred during the advanced flight of the anholocyclic and the delayed flight of the holocyclic life cycle.