Rosy Apple Aphid

The length of D. plantaginea ranges between 2-3mm. Rosy apple aphids develop into imagines after 2-3 weeks, after going through five nymphal instars. Initially, young aphids are beige, but develop a rosy pink hue as they mature. Imagines are colored bluish-green to grey. Winged individuals display a reddish-grey abdomen marked by a long, dark patch on the dorsal side. The abdomen of the imagines is covered in a white wax coating and their cornicles are black. In this aphid species, wingless individuals have antennae shorter than their body, while the antennae of winged individuals are around as long as their body length. At first, the eggs are green, but gradually turn glossy black.

The aphid predominantly inhabits apple trees, and occasionally pear trees as its definitive host. It uses herbaceous plants, especially plantains, as its intermediate host. It is found across Europe, Asia, North Africa, and North America.

D. plantaginea produces 5-6 generations per year parthenogenetically without being fertilized. Winged individuals are produced from early summer onwards so they can migrate to their intermediate host, a herbeceous plant. In fall, they return to their definitive host, usually an apple tree, where, after sexual reproduction by winged females and males, the eggs are laid in bark crevices and fruit stem scars, where they stay over the winter. In spring, the aphids hatch. Ant attendance is common, typically by the Black garden ant, and has been proven to increase the size and growth of populations of D. plantaginea.