Difference in Flight Capacity between Naturally Occurring Spring and Summer Forms of Myzus persicae (Sulz.) (Hemiptera:Aphididae)

Abstract

ONE approach to the problem of the distances flown by aphids is to study the length of time they retain the ability to fly. In many species, flight capacity is restricted to the first few days of adult life, and this has important implications for the epidemiology of plant viruses and, in particular, viruses of the “persistent” type, such as potato leaf roll virus. Alate “alienicolae” of Myzus persicae, in common with several aphids of economic importance, lose the ability to fly about 3 days after the final moult, provided they settle down on a host plant, for settling is a prerequisite for the physiological processes leading to flight muscle autolysis^1–3.