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. 2023 Jul 15;14(7):639.
doi: 10.3390/insects14070639.

The Spatiotemporal Distribution, Abundance, and Seasonal Dynamics of Cotton-Infesting Aphids in the Southern U.S

John W Mahas  1 , Jessica B Mahas  1 , Charles Ray  1 , Adam Kesheimer  1 , Todd D Steury  2 , Sophia R Conzemius  3 , Whitney Crow  4 , Jeffrey Gore  4 , Jeremy K Greene  3 , George G Kennedy  5 , David Kerns  6 , Sean Malone  7 , Silvana Paula-Moraes  8 , Phillip Roberts  9 , Scott D Stewart  10 , Sally Taylor  7 , Michael Toews  9 , Alana L Jacobson  1
Affiliations

The Spatiotemporal Distribution, Abundance, and Seasonal Dynamics of Cotton-Infesting Aphids in the Southern U.S

John W Mahas et al. Insects. .

Abstract

Cotton leafroll dwarf virus (CLRDV) is an emerging aphid-borne pathogen infecting cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., in the southern United States (U.S.). The cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii Glover, infests cotton annually and is the only known vector to transmit CLRDV to cotton. Seven other species have been reported to feed on, but not often infest, cotton: Protaphis middletonii Thomas, Aphis craccivora Koch, Aphis fabae Scopoli, Macrosiphum euphorbiae Thomas, Myzus persicae Sulzer, Rhopalosiphum rufiabdominale Sasaki, and Smynthurodes betae Westwood. These seven have not been studied in cotton, but due to their potential epidemiological importance, an understanding of the intra- and inter-annual variations of these species is needed. In 2020 and 2021, aphids were monitored from North Carolina to Texas using pan traps around cotton fields. All of the species known to infest cotton, excluding A. fabae, were detected in this study. Protaphis middletonii and A. gossypii were the most abundant species identified. The five other species of aphids captured were consistently low throughout the study and, with the exception of R. rufiabdominale, were not detected at all locations. The abundance, distribution, and seasonal dynamics of cotton-infesting aphids across the southern U.S. are discussed.

Keywords: Aphididae; Aphis gossypii; CLRDV; Solemoviridae; crop; pathogen; vector ecology; vector-borne.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Pie chart shading and segments depict the proportional abundance for each cotton-infesting aphid species captured at each location in 2020 and 2021.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mean (±95% CI) number of Aphis gossypii collected during the 2020 and 2021 cotton-growing seasons. Y-axis ranges differ between graphs.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Mean (±95% CI) number of (A) Protaphis middletonii, (B) Smynthurodes betae, (C) Myzus persicae, (D) Aphis craccivora, (E) Rhopalosiphum rufiabdominale, and (F) Macrosiphum euphorbiae collected at each location during the 2020 cotton-growing seasons. Y-axis ranges differ between graphs.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Mean (±95% CI) number of (A) Protaphis middletonii, (B) Smynthurodes betae, (C) Myzus persicae, (D) Aphis craccivora, (E) Rhopalosiphum rufiabdominale, and (F) Macrosiphum euphorbiae collected at each location during the 2021 cotton-growing seasons. Y-axis ranges differ between graphs.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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