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ACTA UNIVERSITATIS SAPIENTIAE
AGRICULTURE AND ENVIRONMENT, 8 (2016) 7488
74
DOI: 10.1515/ausae-2016-0007
Some bioecological aspects of the rose aphid,
Macrosiphum rosae (Hemiptera: Aphididae)
and its natural enemies
Mohsen MEHRPARVAR,1 Seyed Mozaffar MANSOURI,2
Bijan HATAMI3
1 Department of Biodiversity, Institute for Science,
High Technology & Environmental Sciences,
Graduate University of Advanced Technology, Kerman, Iran
E-mail: mehrparvar@aphidology.com; aphidology@gmail.com
2 Department of Biodiversity, Institute for Science,
High Technology & Environmental Sciences,
Graduate University of Advanced Technology, Kerman, Iran
3 Emeritus Professor, Department of Plant Protection,
College of Agriculture, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran
Manuscript received Sept. 17, 2016; revised Sept. 28, 2016; Accepted Oct. 09, 2016
Abstract: The rose aphid, Macrosiphum rosae, is one of the most important pests on
roses in the world and it causes economic damage. In this study, biology, seasonal
population dynamics, and status of natural enemies of the rose aphid were studied. Seasonal
population dynamics was studied by randomly sampling 10 shoots every week in two
locations of Isfahan, Iran. Rose aphid with a high population density, both in spring (April
and May) and in autumn (November), was observed on roses. The results showed that the
rose aphid overwinters as parthenogenetic females and nymphs. This aphid migrates to a
secondary host, Dipsacus fullonum (Dipsacaceae), in summer due to poor food quality of
rose plants. Since sexual form and egg of the rose aphid were not observed in Isfahan, it is
probably anholocyclic species with host alternation in this area. Natural enemies of the rose
aphid include four species of Coccinellidae, three species of Syrphidae, two species of
Chamaemyiidae, one species of Chrysopidae, a few species of Anthocoridae and Miridae,
and one species of Cantharidae. One species of ectoparasite mite of Erythraeidae was also
collected. In addition, four species of parasitoid wasps, Braconidae, were collected.
Keywords: seasonal fluctuations, population dynamics, predator, parasitoid, pest
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1. Introduction
Rose is one of the most beautiful ornamental flowers in the world, and as such
it can be found in many houses and gardens in cities due to its especial
characteristics such as stability, long period of floral initiation, different varieties,
and, of course, its beauty [1]. Rose as a plant is found everywhere and is cultivated
widely in most parts of the world. Furthermore, cut rose flower is regarded as one
of the best cash crop ornamental flowers. Rose is attacked by numerous pests;
amongst them, aphids are considered as a major pest. Aphids have a very
successful worldwide distribution [2, 3]. Their damages to plants may be direct or
indirect: direct damage is due to aphids’ intense feeding on plant sap, which will
wilt the plant and decrease the yield; indirect damage comes as a result of
honeydew excretion and virus transmission. Excretion of honeydew promotes the
growth of sooty mould on the plant surface, so photosynthesis will be disturbed and
crop yield will be decreased [2, 4].
The rose aphid, Macrosiphum rosae (Linnaeus, 1758) is a cosmopolitan
species due to the world-wide cultivation of roses [4–7]. This aphid is the most
important pest of roses and is probably native to Eurasia and it causes significant
economic damage [6, 8]. This aphid has been distributed in all parts of Iran with
high economic importance [9]. There is little knowledge on the biology and
ecology of this pest in Iran. In other countries, several studies have been performed
in this field [e.g. 6, 10–15], but according to the climatic conditions of the given
regions different results were obtained. Three life cycles have been observed for
this aphid [4–6]: A) Holocyclic: its sexual morphs are produced in autumn and
overwintering occurs in the egg stage. In summer, the aphids emigrate from roses
as primary host plants to secondary host plants and aestivate on them. In early
autumn, they return again to the primary host plants to produce sexual morphs.
Migration of this aphid to secondary host plants of Dipsacaceae in summer is
unavoidable [16]. B) Holocyclic: in this case, the rose aphid remains on the rose
bushes during the whole year without any migration, and overwinters as eggs on
the roses. C) Anholocyclic: there are no sexual morphs or egg stage, and it
overwinters as parthenogenetic females on the roses.
Eastop and Hodjat [17] observed that rose aphid activates in Khuzestan
province (southern part of Iran) from March to June on the terminal buds and
leaves of different roses. They mention that rose aphid is observed in the
mountainous and cold regions of Iran on roses from April to November with a high
population in early spring. There is no report about the oviparous females of this
aphid in Iran. Eastop and Hodjat (1980) reported that probably this aphid
overwinters in egg stage in the Alborz Mountain and in very cold regions of Iran.
In addition, in hot and dry regions of Iran, such as Khuzestan, M. rosae reproduces
parthenogenetically throughout the whole year [17].
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76 M. Mehrparvar, S. M. Mansouri, B. Hatami
Since rose aphid is of particular importance because of its economic damage,
investigation and bioecological studies on this aphid and those factors affecting its
population dynamics are fundamental and very significant steps in gaining better
knowledge to control it. Therefore, this study was designed to investigate the
population fluctuations of M. rosae on roses under field condition in Isfahan,
central part of Iran, and determine its natural enemies.
2. Materials and methods
Sampling regions
Two locations in Isfahan, a central region of Iran, were selected for studying
the bioecology and seasonal changes of the rose aphid population. The first
location was Ghadir Park in the eastern part of Isfahan with the perennial rose
bushes. The altitude of this region was about 1,570 m, with a latitude of 32˚ 38' and
a longitude of 51˚ 42'. The numerous rose bushes were available and most of them
were hybrid tea variety of rose. In this area, there were also numerous ornamental
trees such as elm, pine, plane, varnish, and locust trees. Sampling began on April
30, 2003.
The second location of sampling was the Campus of Isfahan University of
Technology (IUT). The altitude of this region was about 1,600 m, with a latitude of
32˚ 42' and a longitude of 51˚ 32'. There was a rose garden with 130 rose bushes.
There were various fruit trees such as grape, pomegranate, apple, pear, almond,
berry, fig, and some ornamental trees as pine, elm, and plane trees. Furthermore,
various vegetables and summer crops were cultivated in this area. The IUT weather
station, close to the garden, provided us with the climatic data.
The water logging method of irrigation of rose plants was used in both places
of sampling to avoid any impact on the population of aphids.
Sampling method and counting the aphids
Seasonal fluctuation of the rose aphid population was determined by weekly
sampling for 19 months from April 2003 to November 2004. Every week, at each
place of sampling, 10 rose bushes were selected randomly; one twig of each rose
bush was cut at random as sampling unit. Since most of the rose aphid colonies are
located along a length of 10–15 cm on the terminal part of twigs, 15 cm of the
terminal portion of twigs was selected and cut off. In laboratory, the nymphs and
adults were counted separately using stereomicroscope. Data from each collection
date were transformed into Log(n+1) to stabilize variance and three-point moving
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averages were used to visualize seasonal trends. The graphs were produced using
Microsoft Excel 2010.
Determining secondary host plants
According to the reports of other researchers, M. rosae in other regions of the
world migrates to secondary host plants in summer [4–6]. So, in this study, from
early June, when aphid populations are decreasing, different plants in Isfahan and
around the sampling locations, especially those plants mentioned as secondary host
plants in the literature [e.g. 4–6, 18, 19], were identified and thoroughly examined
(at least three times per month) as to whether there is rose aphid or not. Since the
rose aphid may have spent the summer furtively on the rose plant, especially inside
the collar, some parts of the plant, especially the collar and top levels of the roots
were also checked carefully in addition to the weekly sampling of twigs. If an
aphid was found on these plants, it was collected by a paint brush in a vial of 80%
ethanol, and then identified in the laboratory.
Determining place and stage of overwintering
To do so, rose bushes in both sampling places were visited and examined by
weekly sampling from mid-September. Since rose plants were the primary hosts of
the rose aphid, there were two possibilities for the overwintering of the rose aphid
on this plant; it either spends the winter as egg on the rose bushes or overwinters as
viviparous female. To determine the existence of the sexual form of the aphid and
the existence of egg on the plant tissues, plant sampling was done in a way that
different parts of the plant, including twigs, branches, upper parts of root, and
collar, were cut with pruning shears and put in a plastic bag to be examined by
stereomicroscope in laboratory. Female sexual morphs are easily recognizable for
their swollen hind tibia with pseudorhinaria on it [5].
Collecting and identifying natural enemies
Natural enemies of rose aphid were collected in different regions of Isfahan,
especially in designated sampling regions. Since rose aphid, like other aphids, has
many natural enemies from various orders and families of insects, a special method
was used for collecting each group. Ladybirds and predatory bugs were collected
using paint brush, insect net, and aspirator, and kept in 80% ethanol. Other rose
aphid predators, such as the larvae of Syrphid flies, the larvae of Chamaemyiid
flies, and the larvae of green lacewings, were collected with paint brush from the
rose bushes, and then transferred to laboratory. For identifying these predators,
they were reared until maturity. To rear these larvae in laboratory, they were put in
glass petri dishes with a diameter of 11 cm and a height of 2 cm with a filter paper
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78 M. Mehrparvar, S. M. Mansouri, B. Hatami
on its bottom. Then, they were fed with rose aphids. The petries were kept in an
incubator at 25±1C. 2–3 days after the emergence of adults, they were transferred
to vials with 80% ethanol. Afterwards, they were identified at the family level and
were sent to specialists for identification at the species level.
Collection of the rose aphid parasitoids was quite different from its predators. To
do so, at first, the available aphid colonies on the roses in nature were examined,
and after observing some parasitized aphids the twigs having these aphids were cut
off, and they were reared until the emergence of parasitoids. At the laboratory,
twigs were kept in small vials of water in incubator at 25±1˚C. The emerged
parasitoids were kept in small vials containing 80% ethanol and identified at the
family level. These parasitoids were also sent to specialists for identification.
3. Results and discussions
Biology and seasonal fluctuations
Seasonal fluctuations of the rose aphid in two sampling regions, the Campus
of IUT and the Ghadir Park, are shown in figures 1 and 2 respectively. Weather
information during our study (2003 and 2004) is presented in figures 3 and 4.
When the cold weather of winter is over, and it gets warmer in the early growing
season, the rose aphid population increases considerably, and thus in April and
May very large and dense colonies can be observed on roses. The increase of
population continued until mid-May. One of the reasons of population increase in
spring is the suitable quality of the rose plant sap. Since in spring the vegetation
growth of the rose plant begins and at this time it has tender and delicate tissues,
this condition is very suitable for the growth of aphids [20]. The quality of aphid
food (plant sap) is an important factor that can result in the increase of aphid
population and acceleration of their growth [21, 22].
A large number of biological agents play an important role in the natural
control of aphids [3, 21, 23]. At the beginning of the season, with the increase of
the rose aphid population, some predators, such as ladybirds, predatory bugs, green
lacewings, and also parasitoids, are active and play a considerable role in
controlling the rose aphid population. On the whole, the role of natural enemies in
reducing the population of this aphid in May cannot be denied since after the
activity of natural enemies has begun the population of rose aphids is reduced.
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0
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Pruning
Figure 1. Seasonal fluctuations of the rose aphid, Macrosiphum rosae, in IUT Campus.
Data from each collection date were transformed into Log(n+1) to stabilize variance and
three-point moving averages were used to visualize seasonal trends.
Figure 2. Seasonal fluctuations of the rose aphid, Macrosiphum rosae, in Ghadir Park. Data
from each collection date were transformed into Log(n+1) to stabilize variance and three-
point moving averages were used to visualize seasonal trends.
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80 M. Mehrparvar, S. M. Mansouri, B. Hatami
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III III III III III III III III III III III III III III III III III III
April May June July Augost September October November December
Date - 2003
Humidity (%); Temperature (° C ); Rainfall (mm)
Humidity Rain fall Temperature
By late May, with the increase of temperature, the growth of the rose aphid and
also its fertility decrease, which results in the decrease of the aphid population on
the rose plants. The author’s studies on the biology of the rose aphid at different
temperatures [24], and also studies of Maelzer [6] on South Australia,
demonstrated that the optimum temperature for the growth of the rose aphid is
about 22 °C. At temperatures higher than 22 °C, the growth and fertility of the rose
aphid is reduced severely. Temperature curves in the two years of study (fig-s 3
and 4) show that the average daily temperature is going up almost from the end of
May from 22 °C and it drops under 22 °C at the end of September. These changes
of temperature are exactly synchronized with the fluctuation of the population of
M. rosae, meaning that at the end of May, when the average daily temperature goes
above 22 °C, the population of the rose aphid starts decreasing and also in early
October the temperature drops under 22 ºC, and the rose aphid population increases
again.
Figure 3. Weather information (mean of daily temperature, rainfall, and humidity)
of Isfahan city in 2003
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January Febraury March April May June July Augost Se ptember October November December
Date - 2004
Humidity (%); Temperature (° C ); Rainfall (mm)
Humidity Rainfall Temperature
Figure 4. Weather information (mean of daily temperature, rainfall, and humidity)
of Isfahan city in 2004
The temperature does not only have a direct influence on the rose aphid but it
also changes the physiology of the rose plant, which results in the stagnation of the
plant. So, it would not be a suitable food source for the rose aphid. Therefore,
aphids have to migrate to their secondary host plants to avoid these unsuitable
conditions. Results obtained by Maelzer (1977) and Jaskiewicz (1997) also confirm
these cases [6, 16].
The decrease of population begins with the increase of temperature from the
end of May and will continue so that there will be no rose aphid on the rose plants
by the end of June. During summer, when the average temperature is more than 22
˚C, the rose aphid aestivates on its secondary host plant, Dipsacus fullonum
(Dipsacaceae). It should be noted that Eastop and Hodjat (1980) published their
personal observations that rose aphid can be found on roses in the cold and
mountainous regions of Iran from April to November [17]. Nevertheless, the
current study shows that in Isfahan rose aphids migrate to their secondary host
plant in summer, where they aestivate. Therefore, it will not be found on roses
from late June until early October. In mid-October, as the daily average of
temperature in Isfahan is less than 22 ˚C (fig-s 3 and 4), alate aphids are produced
and migrate towards the rose plant and establish new colonies. These colonies will
continue their growth at the appropriate temperature of autumn, and their
population increases. During this time of the year, with respect to the fact that
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82 M. Mehrparvar, S. M. Mansouri, B. Hatami
natural enemies are intensely active, their role in the control of aphid population
cannot be neglected. The increase of the rose aphid population will continue during
autumn and, in fact, the beginning of the severe winter cold determines the time
when the population growth is stopped. During this research, we found that in the
climatic conditions of Isfahan the cold of winter could not have a considerable
effect on the decrease of the rose aphid population. Macrosiphum rosae primarily
produces its dense colonies on the rose at early spring and infests twigs and buds
severely. From late spring and early summer, which is a warmer period, there will
be more alate morphs, causing the spread of this pest to other rose bushes or
resulting in migration to secondary host plants for aestivation. The population of
this aphid is very low during summer, so that nearly no rose aphid is observed on
the roses. In early autumn, which is cooler, these aphids return from their
secondary host plants to the rose bushes, and produce new, dense colonies.
Because of the cold weather in winter, the growth of these colonies is limited and
the aphid population is decreased; this trend is also reported by [6, 9, 25].
Temperature is one of the most important factors that affects the fluctuation of
aphid populations [21, 26, 27]. Environmental temperature causes severe changes
in the aphid population, and thus in summer, with the increase of the temperature,
the number of aphid individuals is reduced very much on the host plants. Hot and
dried climates, temperatures above 30 C, severe wind and rainfall reduce the
population of this aphid on roses [16]. Our results show that rainfall has a
considerable effect on the population dynamics of the rose aphid, so that the aphid
population decreases severely after raining. The reasons for this matter lie in aphids
being washed off by drops of rain, so that they cannot return to the plants again.
Rainfall may cause nearly 100% mortality of adults and older nymphs [6]. The
physiological conditions of the host plant are also very effective in the growth and
increase of the rose aphid population [11]. In autumn, when migrant alate morphs
are produced and migrate from the secondary host plants to their primary ones,
first, newly established colonies can be observed on the bushes of dog-rose. In
winter, since rose bushes do not have fresh twigs and buds, the rose aphid is
transferred to the lower parts of the plant, especially to the lower surface of the
remained leaves. Red adult individuals in a colony are darker than red spring
individuals; however, some winter morphs are dark green or have some green spots
on their bodies. In IUT, the decrease of the winter population began sooner than in
Ghadir Park, which is probably due to the proximity of the IUT campus to the
mountain and higher altitude, so the cold of winter of IUT is more severe than in
Ghadir Park, which is located in the city of Isfahan.
Mainly three factors influence the dynamics and the structure of aphid
populations including: A) The potential fertility of aphids influenced by the
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Some bioecological aspects of the rose aphid… 83
physiological condition of host. B) The density of population and climatic
condition, which result in the production of winged morphs [28–30]. C) Presence
and activity of predators and parasitoids [11, 31]. But, because of the complexity of
the system, there is no general or certain view about the relative importance and
interactions of the active factors [11].
In addition to the rose aphid, which is the most important rose pest in Iran [9,
25] and the world [e.g. 5, 8], other aphids, such as Amphorophora catharinae
(Nevsky, 1928) and Rhodobium porosum (Sanderson, 1900), are also active on
roses in Isfahan with a very high population. These two species have considerable
population in Isfahan and sometimes the number of observed colonies and their
population is even greater than that of the rose aphid. The above mentioned species
are active on the rose when it is warmer in summer. In autumn, the population of
these aphids and of the rose aphid increases simultaneously. However, in autumn,
in addition to these colonies, other small colonies of Aphis fabae Scopoli, 1763,
and Aphis craccivora Koch, 1854 are also observed on roses. The activity of these
species in autumn begins sooner than those of the rose aphid.
According to the reports [4–6, 11, 16, 32], M. rosae, depending on the region
of activity, has three kinds of life cycles. So, if the climatic conditions of a region
change severely and these fluctuations remain stable for a long time, the life cycle
of the rose aphid and the way of its overwintering will probably change.
In the current study, we found that the rose aphid reproduced viviparously at the
climatic conditions of Isfahan throughout the whole year, and there was no sexual
form. It also migrated to its secondary host plant in summer. Accordingly, M. rosae
is anholocyclic with host alternation in Isfahan.
Weekly observations revealed that the population of predators relatively
increases at two time points of the year, in spring (May) and in autumn (October and
November), while the rose aphid population decreases. It should be noted that the
population of natural enemies is basically low early in the season, and after a while it
increases. During this time, aphids can increase their population rapidly. However,
when there is a delay for the appearance of natural enemies, especially coinciding
with the increase of the aphids’ population, they will not be effective, and these
natural enemies will not be able to control the population of aphids. Overall, it can be
said that fluctuations in the rose aphid population depend on the changes of climatic
factors, the host condition, and the natural enemies during its activity.
Secondary host plants
One of the characteristics of the evolution of aphids’ life cycle is host
alternation [4, 5]. On the whole, the distribution of the aphids on the plant or host
plants or among them is determined according to the qualitative fluctuation of plant
sap [21]. In this research, M. rosae in summer was collected only from the D.
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84 M. Mehrparvar, S. M. Mansouri, B. Hatami
fullonum (Dipsacaceae).
Dipsacus species are biennial plants with prickly stems and
have divided branches at the top parts. This plant has been distributed in Iran
especially in the northern, north-eastern, north-western, southern, and central parts of
Iran [33]. This plant may be cultivated in the gardens of urban regions as an
ornamental plant, which is partially scattered in Isfahan. Since the rose aphid is large
and heavy, the possibility of the migration of this aphid from remote regions to the
roses of the gardens in the city seems impossible. Although frequent visits
demonstrated that the rose aphid was not available on other plants in summer, it is
possible that this aphid spends the summer on other plants in addition to D. fullonum.
Various plants have been named as secondary host plants for the rose aphid.
These plants are those hosts on which aestivation takes place, and most of them
belong to families such as Dipsacaceae, Valerianaceae, and Onagraceae [4–6, 18,
19]. These plants belong to species such as Dipsacus sativuspilosus, D. strigosa,
D. silvestris, D. fullonum, Succisa pratensis, and Knautia arvensis of the family of
Dipsacaceae [4, 5, 8], Centranthus rubber, Centranthus sp., and Valeriana sp. of the
family of Valerianaceae [5, 32], Chamaenerion and Epilobium of the family of
Onagraceae [4]. Heie (1994) introduced Chamaenerium angustifolium (Oenother-
aceae) as the most important secondary host plant instead of Knautia arvensis in
northern Sweden and Finland [5]. This aphid is occasionally observed on the other
Rosaceae such as Fragaria, Geum, Pyrus, Malus, and Rubus in summer [4, 5].
Furthermore, late in summer, the rose aphid may also be seen on Ilex aquifolium [5,
8]. In 1990–1996, Ripka et al. collected rose aphid on some plants such as
Fontanesia fortunei, Gleditsia triacanthus, Symphoricarpos albus, Symphoricarpos
sp., Orbiculatus sp., and Vitex agnus-castus as well as rose plant in Hungary [34].
Place and stage of aestivation and overwintering
The rose aphid overwinters as alate and apterous viviparous females on the
lower surface of leaves and on lower branches of the rose plant in Isfahan. Weekly
sampling in winter demonstrated that viviparous females are always observed
together with different nymphal instars. It should be added that this aphid is seen
reproductively in the cold of winter, so this species reproduces viviparously during
the whole winter. Since in our study egg stage and sexual morphs were never
observed, it can be concluded that the rose aphid is anholocyclic in Isfahan.
In this study, D. fullonum was identified as secondary host plant for M. rosae.
The rose aphid spends the summer as alate and apterous viviparous morphs on this
plant. The situation and ecological niche of those aphids that aestivate are different
from the colonies of this aphid in other seasons of the year. In summer, because of
the high temperature and changes in the physiological conditions of the rose plant,
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Some bioecological aspects of the rose aphid… 85
the aphids have to leave the roses and migrate to secondary host plants. Dipsacus
fullonum has wide, large, and dense leaves, and so it will have intensive canopies
and will make a cooler environment with more humidity for the rose aphids.
Aestivating colonies were observed in IUT for the first time in early June
2004. The population of the rose aphid on the secondary host plant reached its
maximum in mid-July, and these aestivating aphids remained on the secondary host
plants until late October. Aestivating colonies on the secondary host plant have a
much smaller population than those on the rose and their colonies seemed to be
scattered. The colour of aestivating aphids is different; this change of colour is
probably due to the host plant [21]. Aestivating aphids were located and active on
the stems and lower surface of leaves of the secondary host plant.
Natural enemies of the rose aphid
The collected natural enemies of the rose aphid belonged to various groups of
arthropods such as insects (Table 1), mites, and spiders.
Table 1. Predators and parasitoids of the rose aphid, Macrosiphum rosae, collected in
Isfahan, Iran.
Order
Family
Scientific name
Coleoptera
Coccinellidae
Hippodamia variegata Goeze
Coccinella septempunctata L.
Adalia bipunctata L.
Exochomus nigromaculatus Goeze
Diptera
Syrphidae
Chamaemyiidae
Syrphus vitripennis Meigen,
Ischiodon aegyptius (Wied.)
Scaeva albomaculata Macquart
Leucopis glyphinivora Tanas.
Leucopis sp.
Hemiptera
Miridae
Anthocoridae
Deraeocoris punctulatus (Fallen)
Deraeocoris sp.
Orius niger (Wolff)
O. minuta L.
Anthocoris limbatus Fieber
Neuroptera
Chrysopidae
Chrysoperla carnea (Stephens)
Hymenoptera
Braconidae
Aphidius rosae Haliday
Aphidius ervi Haliday
Praon volucre Haliday
Ephedrus plagiator Nees
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In this study, four species of Coccinellidae were identified. Three species
including Hippodamia variegata Goeze, Coccinella septempunctata Linnaeus, and
Adalia bipunctata Linnaeus belonged to the subfamily of Coccinellinae and
Exochomus nigromaculatus Goeze belonged to the subfamily of Chilocorinae.
Furthermore, three species of Syrphidae were identified as Syrphus vitripennis
Meigen, Ischiodon aegyptius (Wiedemann), and Scaeva albomaculata Macquart;
among them, the first one was the dominant species. Two more species of
Chamaemyiidae, Leucopis glyphinivora Tanasijtshuk and Leucopis sp., were also
collected. Furthermore, some predator bugs of Miridae including Deraeocoris
punctulatus (Fallen) and Deraeocoris sp. and of Anthocoridae, such as Orius niger
(Wolff), O. minuta Linnaeus, and Anthocoris limbatus Fieber, were identified. One
species of predator beetle of the family Cantharidae was also collected.
Chrysoperla carnea (Stephens) of Chrysopidae, one species of parasitic mites of
Prostigmata (Erythraeidae), and some species of predator spiders were also
collected.
The most active and important parasitoid wasps of the rose aphid belong to
the Braconidae. In this study, four species of parasitoid wasps of the family
Braconidae, namely Aphidius rosae Haliday, Aphidius ervi Haliday, Praon volucre
Haliday, and Ephedrus plagiator Nees, were collected. Aphidius rosae is one of the
most important natural enemies of M. rosae in many parts of the world like
Germany, Australia, and Poland [11, 32, 35, 36]. This parasitoid is specialized on
M. rosae and is rarely active on other aphids [36]. Aphidius rosae has been
reported for the first time by the authors in Iran [37]. These parasitoids are found in
spring during April and May to early June. In autumn, they are active from
November to early December. Pachyneuron aphidis (Bouche) of Pteromalidae was
collected as hyperparasitoid of the rose aphid.
4. Conclusion
Bioecological studies and interaction between a pest and its environment is very
important because the relationship between the pests and environmental factors
should be recognized at first for a correct and effective control. Any effective
control of pests requires a precise knowledge of their dynamics and factors, such as
temperature, which influence them. Temperature is an important environmental
variable that affects the rate of aphid development, reproduction, mortality, and
survival [30]. At present, in most regions of the world, determining the suitable
time for controlling pests is based on the seasonal fluctuations of the pest
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Some bioecological aspects of the rose aphid… 87
population and it is a subject about which we tried to describe some important
points on the fluctuations of the rose aphid population in this study.
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