Entomophthoralean fungi overwinter with the bird cherry-oat aphid on bird cherry trees

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  • Stéphanie Saussure
  • Jensen, Annette Bruun
  • Marie L. Davey
  • Annette Folkedal Schjøll
  • Karin Westrum
  • Ingeborg Klingen

In Scandinavia, the bird cherry-oat aphid Rhopalosiphum padi overwinter as eggs on the bird cherry tree Prunus padus. Branches of P. padus were collected at the late February / early March from 17 locations in Norway over a three-year period. We found 3599 overwintering aphid eggs, 59.5% of which were dead. Further, a total of 879 overwintering fungus-killed cadavers were observed. These cadavers were found close to bud axils, where overwintering eggs were also usually attached. Cadavers were infected with either Zoophthora cf. aphidis or Entomophthora planchoniana. All the fungal-killed cadavers were filled with overwintering structures of Z. cf. aphidis (as resting spores) or E. planchoniana (as modified hyphal bodies). We found a significant negative correlation between eggs and cadavers per branch. However, both numbers of eggs and cadavers varied greatly between years and among tree locations. This is the first report of E. planchoniana overwintering in R. padi cadavers as modified hyphal bodies. We discuss whether P. padus may act as an inoculum reservoir for fungi infecting aphids in cereals in spring.

Original languageEnglish
Article number107971
JournalJournal of Invertebrate Pathology
Volume200
Number of pages12
ISSN0022-2011
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023

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© 2023 The Author(s)

    Research areas

  • Biological control, Entomopathogenic fungi, Overwintering structures, Primary infections

ID: 363060725