N. ribisnigri

Nasonovia ribisnigri (Mosley, 1841)

Currant-lettuce aphid

Nasonovia ribisnigri : adulte aptère
Nasonovia ribisnigri : adulte ailé
Nasonovia ribisnigri : colonie
blanc 192x128

1.3-2.7 mm.
Apterous: greenish yellow, on abdomen hind-areas bear dark straight spots arranged on each side of medial line.
Alate: pale green to dark green, antennae long and black, abdomen with specks or stripes, cornicles straight and dark, cauda black, articulations of legs black.

See identification file

Dioecious holocyclic

Primary hosts: Ribes spp (like redcurrant, blackcurrant).
Secondary hosts: Asteraceae: Lactuca (lettuce), Chicorium (chicory and endive), Solanaceae: Nicotiana tabacum (tobacco), Petunia (petunia) and Scrophulariaceae: Euphrasia (eyebright), Veronica (speedwell).

N. ribisnigri is the dominant species in open field crops of lettuce
This species manifests signs of resistance to insecticides.

Agronomic impact

N. ribisnigri does not cause significant direct damage: hardly any colour change to leaves and just slight deformation with margins undulating. Conversely the indirect damage due to the serious tainting produced makes harvests unmarketable.
It transmits the cauliflower mosaic (CaMV) and cucumber mosaic viruses (CMV) but not that of lettuce mosaic (LMV), or very little.

Predators

Parasitoids

  • Aphidius hieraciorum
  • Harkeria angustivalva
  • Monoctonus crepidis
  • Praon pubescens

In this folder

Modification date : 07 February 2023 | Publication date : 04 November 2010 | Redactor : Evelyne Turpeau, Maurice Hullé, Bernard Chaubet