Citrus aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae): incidence, population fluctuations, host plant and age preferences

Citrus plantations are suffered from many different pest species in East Mediterranean Region. Among them, aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) are one of the important groups. Some species such as Aphis gossypii Glover, Aphis spiraecola Patch, Aphis craccivora Koch, Aphis (Toxoptera) aurantii (Boyer de Fanscolombe) and Myzus (Nectarosiphon) persicae (Sulzer) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) cause harm especially young citrus orchards. This study aimed to investigate regional distribution, seasonal fluctuation, host and host age preferences within citrus species of these aphid species in 15 sub-regions from Adana, Hatay, Osmaniye and Mersin between 2007 and 2009. While the mandarin was more preferred than other citrus species, grapefruit was the least preferred citrus species among in all the three provinces. Among the citrus species in the Mersin region, A. spiraecola was the most common in lemons, while A. (T.) aurantii preferred mandarin compare to others. In Adana and Hatay regions, mandarin was the most preferred citrus species for all aphid species except M. (N.) persicae. Aphid preferences depending on the age showed differences in citrus age scale by region. A. (T.) aurantii, on the other hand, had the highest rate of presence between the ages of 11-20 in Hatay and between the ages 21-40 in Mersin. The prevalence of citrus varieties in Adana and Hatay parallelly affected the distribution of aphids. However, A. spiraecola was dominant aphid species on the lemon. Adana, which has a richer flora compared to Mersin and Hatay regions, has been determined the highest aphid density in different species. The fact that Aphis goosypii and A. spiraecola create up to 30-40% infections rate in citrus orchards not only in spring, but also in July, and intense again in autumn have made these pests harmful for four seasons.