A new species of Aphis Linnaeus (Hemiptera, Aphididae) living on Teucrium polium L. (Lamiaceae)
Author
Barjadze, Shalva
Author
Blackman, Roger L.
Author
Ӧzdemir, Işil
text
Zootaxa
2015
4057
2
248
256
journal article
39297
10.11646/zootaxa.4057.2.5
e03516b8-b808-4d0b-b090-fef48926031f
1175-5326
245699
7111BD89-C27A-45F5-A284-51E7BBE68578
Aphis polii
sp. n.
(
Figure 2
,
Table 1
)
Material examined.
Holotype
and
paratypes
.
Although no description has been published, 15 slides of the new species from 3 localities were labelled as “
paratypes
by F. Leclant (FL) and G. Remaudière (GR). We have retained this designation, and selected an apt. from one of these samples as
holotype
.
Holotype
: apt., coll. no. FL 5092, GR 18130, numbered 1 on slide with 3 other specimens,
FRANCE
, Source du Lez (Hérault),
N 43 0 37
/,
E 0 3 0
53/,
36 m
a.s.l.,
6.xii.1970
, on
Teucrium polium
, leg. F. Leclant.
Paratypes
: 27 more apt. on 7 slides, same data as
holotype
; 1 apt. on 1 slide and 5 ovip. on 4 slides,
FRANCE
, St Baudille, Larzac (Hérault),
N 43 0 44
/,
E 0 3 0
29/,
829 m
a.s.l.,
3.xii.1970
, on
Teucrium polium
, leg. F. Leclant (FL 5080, GR 18285); 16 apt. and 1 immature on 4 slides,
FRANCE
, St Saturnin-les-Apt (Vaucluse),
N 43 0 56
/,
E 0 5 0
23/,
394 m
a.s.l.,
7.xii.1972
, on
Teucrium polium
, leg. F. Leclant (FL 5881, GR 18286).
Type
specimens are deposited in the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris,
France
(
holotype
and 32
paratypes
on 11 slides), the UMR Centre de Biologie pour la Gestion des Populations, Montpellier,
France
(8
paratypes
on 2 slides) and the Natural History Museum, London,
UK
(10
paratypes
on 3 slides).
Other material examined (not in
type
series).
FRANCE
: 5 apt., Éguilles (Bouches du Rhône),
N 43 0 35
/,
E 0 5 0
18/,
228 m
a.s.l.,
13.vi.1967
, on
Teucrium polium
, leg. F. Leclant (FL 2038); 1 apt., Éguilles (Bouches du Rhône),
N 43 0 35
/,
E 0 5 0
18/,
228 m
a.s.l.,
27.xi.1969
, on
Teucrium polium
, leg. F. Leclant (FL 3854 and GR 18287); 10 apt., Lambesc (Bouches du Rhône),
N 43 0 39
/,
E 0 5 0
15/,
206 m
a.s.l.,
24.ii. 1970
, on
Teucrium polium
, leg. F. Leclant and G. Remaudière (FL 4086 and GR 9203); 6 apt., Luberon, (Vaucluse),
N 43 0 47
/,
E 0 5 0
13/,
700 m
a.s.l.,
22.iii.1970
, on
Teucrium polium
, leg. G. Remaudière (GR 9275); 10 apt., Luberon (Vaucluse),
N 43 0 47
/,
E 0 5 0
13/,
700 m
a.s.l.,
22.iii.1971
, on
Teucrium polium
, leg. F. Leclant and G. Remaudière (FL 4171 and GR 9383); 1 apt., Lourmarin (Vaucluse),
N 43 0 45
/,
E 0 5 0
21/,
214 m
a.s.l.,
22.iii.1970
, on
Teucrium polium
, leg. G. Remaudière (GR 9283); 6 apt., Carnoules (Var),
N 43 0 18
/,
E 0 6 0
11/,
228 m
a.s.l.,
25.iii.1970
, on
Teucrium polium
, leg. G. Remaudière (GR 9350); 10 apt., La Taillade (Hérault),
N 43 0 37
/,
E 0 3 0
37/,
221 m
a.s.l.,
12.iv.1970
, on
Teucrium polium
, leg. F. Leclant and G. Remaudière (FL 4308 and GR 9442); 10 apt., Barcelonne (Drôme),
N 44 0 51
/,
E 0 5 0
0 2/,
299 m
a.s.l.,
21.v.1970
, on
Teucrium polium
, leg. G. Remaudière (GR 9470); 8 apt. and 13 al., Rottane (
Corsica
),
N 42 0 10
/,
E 0 9 0
25/,
55 m
a.s.l.,
4.vi.1970
, on
Teucrium polium
, leg. F. Leclant (FL 4633a and GR 18284); 10 apt., S Castellane (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence),
N 43 0 50
/,
E 0 6 0
30/,
733 m
a.s.l.,
1.xi.1989
, on
Teucrium polium
, leg. G. Remaudière (GR 16015); 2 al., Barcelonne (Drôme),
N 44 0 51
/,
E 0 5 0
0 2/,
299 m
a.s.l.,
21.v.1970
; on
Teucrium polium
, leg. G. Remaudière (GR 9470);
ITALY
: 13 apt., Ventimiglia,
N 43 0 47
/,
E 0 7 0
36/,
9 m
a.s.l.,
30.iv.1969
, on
Teucrium polium
, leg. D. Hille Ris Lambers (HRL 631 and BM 1984-340),
UKRAINE
: 17 apt. on 4 slides, Crimea, Alushta,
N 44 0 41
/,
E 34 0 24
/,
30 m
a.s.l.,
05.vii
, 1960, on
Teucrium polium
, leg. J. Holman (3707);
LEBANON
: 7 apt. on 1 slide, Beirut,
N 33 0 53
/,
E 35 0 30
/, 0 m a.s.l.,
3.iv.1966
, on
Teucrium polium
, leg.
Moericke
(155 and BM 1984-340);
IRAN
: 6 apt., Rte Chemchak,
20 km
E of Teheran,
N 36 0 0
0/,
E 51 0 29
/,
1800 m
a.s.l.,
20.v.1955
, on
Teucrium polium
, leg. G. Remaudière (GR i301); 2 apt., Rte Chemchak,
20 km
E of Teheran,
N 36 0 0
0/,
E 51 0 29
/,
1800 m
a.s.l.,
10.vi.1955
, on
Teucrium polium
, leg. G. Remaudière (GR i490); 2 al. on 1 slide, Rte Tchalus (Chalus),
N 36 0 39
/,
E 51 0 24
/,
58 m
a.s.l.,
12.v.1959
, on
Teucrium
sp., leg. G. Remaudière (GR
i1612
).
Etymology.
The specific name is that suggested by D. Hille Ris lambers, in a letter to F. Leclant dated
November 12th, 1969
, and is derived from the specific name of its host plant.
Description.
Apterous viviparous females (
143 specimens
/17 samples).
Colour in living specimens: variable from yellow (specimens from
Iran
, note on slide label by G. Remaudière) to dark green (
Leclant 1978
), with dark SIPH and cauda. Pigmentation on slide: ANT I–II brown, ANT III pale (or ANT III and IV both pale when ANT 6-segmented), penultimate antennal segment brown either over whole length or brown on distal part and pale basally, last antennal segment (including PT) brown; head, URS, coxae, trochanters, femora, tarsi (fig. 2 f), SIPH, subgenital and anal plates and cauda brown, tibiae pale with dark apices, dorsum of abdomen in front of SIPH pale, ABD TERG VII–VIII with or without brown cross-bands, presiphuncular and postsiphuncular sclerites absent.
Morphological characters: Body oval (fig. 2 a, b). ANT 5 or 6-segmented (figs. 2 c, d). ANT 0.35–0.70× BL. PT 1.20–2.43× ANT V b or ANT VI b. ANT III without sec. rhin.. Frons convex or with shallow w-shaped outline in dorsal view. Rostrum reaches to or just passes the hind coxae. URS pointed with concave sides and 2 (-3) accessory setae (fig. 2 e), its length 1.28–2.35× ANT V b or ANT VI b and 1.49–2.25× HT II. THR—0.23–1.34. FTC 3:3:2. HT II
W 0.21
–0.41× HT II L. Dorsal reticulation distinct. MTu on prothorax
0.010–0.049 mm
in diameter. ABD TERG I and VII with small or medium-sized mammariform MTu, respectively
0.006–0.031 mm
and
0.007–0.036 mm
in diameter. Marginal seta on ABD TERG I is 0.19–2.83× diameter of the MTu on the same tergite. ABD TERG II–VI without MTu. SIPH cylindrical, imbricated, with a small to moderately developed flange (fig. 2 a, b), its length 1.98–5.34× its width in the middle and 0.93–1.98× cauda. ABD TERG VIII with 2 setae. Subgenital plate oval, with spinulose imbrications and 2 setae on the anterior part of the disc and 4–11 setae on the posterior margin (fig.
2 g
). Cauda finger-like, without or with a slight constriction in the middle and bearing long and curved 3–7 setae and a lot of strong black spinules (fig. 2 h), its length 0.85–1.95× its basal width. Other morphometric data are given in
Table 1
.
TABLE 1.
Measurements and ratios of
Aphis polii
sp. n.
(
measurements are lengths unless otherwise indicated, and are given in mm).
Note:
measurements and ratios for holotype are in parentheses.
Measurements: apt. (n=143) al. (n=17) ovip. (n=5)
Longest seta on ABD TERG III/ANT III BD 0.27–1.35 (0.39) 0.33–1.67 0.40–0.58 SIPH/its basal width 1.36–4.39 (2.41) 2.15–3.87 1.82–2.43 SIPH/its distal width 2.40–6.79 (4.11) 3.45–5.39 3.08–3.73 SIPH/BL 0.07–0.19 (0.11) 0.10–0.14 0.09–0.11 SIPH/ANT V b or ANT VI b 1.06–2.84 (1.98) 1.36–1.85 1.54–1.89 SIPH/URS 0.67–1.76 (0.93) 0.85–1.31 0.83–0.94 SIPH/HT II 1.30–3.16 (1.98) 1.52–2.40 1.59–1.78 SIPH/CAUDA 0.93–1.98 (1.28) 1.18–1.82 1.28–1.37 Longest seta on ABD TERG VIII/ANT III BD 0.38–2.87 (0.50) 0.80–3.27 0.82–1.24
BL |
0.714–1.377 (1.000) |
0.925–1.548 |
1.060–1.183 |
BW |
0.424–0.976 (0.675) |
0.429–0.706 |
0.655–0.730 |
ANT |
0.349–0.730(0.460) |
0.567–1.032 |
0.500–0.540 |
ANT I |
0.020–0.064 (0.038) |
0.036–0.052 |
0.040–0.048 |
ANT II |
0.032–0.052 (0.040) |
0.036–0.052 |
0.041–0.046 |
ANT III BD |
0.013–0.025 (0.018) |
0.009–0.017 |
0.019–0.022 |
ANT III (if 6 segmented) |
0.056–0.169 |
0.171–0.270 |
– |
ANT III (if 5 segmented) |
0.103–0.222 (0.127) |
0.194–0.233 |
0.143–0.175 |
Longest seta on ANT III |
0.005–0.017 (0.006) |
0.005–0.009 |
0.006–0.009 |
ANT IV |
0.037–0.112 (0.072) |
0.079–0.163 |
0.079–0.095 |
ANT V (if 6 segmented) |
0.057–0.123 |
0.119–0.136 |
– |
ANT V b or ANT VI b |
0.048–0.095 (0.056) |
0.063–0.095 |
0.063–0.077 |
PT |
0.079–0.182 (0.109) |
0.142–0.278 |
0.099–0.111 |
Longest cephalic frontal seta |
0.007–0.032 (0.009) |
0.006–0.019 |
0.010–0.013 |
Rostrum |
0.306–0.524 (0.373) |
0.308–0.433 |
0.406–0.423 |
URS |
0.091–0.151 (0.119) |
0.094–0.135 |
0.126–0.134 |
Posterior seta on the hind trochanter |
0.009–0.037 (0.013) |
0.012–0.028 |
0.015–0.031 |
HFEM |
0.154–0.294 (0.193) |
0.198–0.381 |
0.222–0.226 |
HTIB |
0.270–0.492 (0.334) |
0.375–0.677 |
0.357–0.389 |
HT II length |
0.050–0.082 (0.056) |
0.056–0.075 |
0.067–0.070 |
HT II width |
0.014–0.025 (0.018) |
0.013–0.018 |
0.017–0.019 |
Marginal seta on ABD TERG I |
0.005–0.025 (0.009) |
0.006–0.028 |
0.009–0.012 |
Longest seta on ABD TERG III |
0.005–0.023 (0.007) |
0.005–0.025 |
0.008–0.011 |
SIPH |
0.083–0.231 (0.111) |
0.096–0.163 |
0.111–0.119 |
Distal width of SIPH |
0.022–0.055 (0.027) |
0.025–0.036 |
0.030–0.037 |
Middle width of SIPH |
0.022–0.063 (0.031) |
0.025–0.037 |
0.035–0.042 |
Basal width of SIPH |
0.034–0.089 (0.046) |
0.031–0.049 |
0.049–0.061 |
Longest seta on ABD TERG VIII |
0.006–0.046 (0.009) |
0.012–0.049 |
0.016–0.026 |
Cauda |
0.071–0.135 (0.087) |
0.073–0.127 |
0.086–0.087 |
Basal width of cauda |
0.062–0.117 (0.080) |
0.062–0.097 |
0.086–0.108 |
Ratios:
|
PT/ANT III |
0.56–1.73 (0.86) |
0.63–1.08 |
0.63–0.75 |
PT/ANT Vb or ANT VIb |
1.28–2.35 (1.95) |
1.64–3.16 |
1.39–1.65 |
ANT V b or ANT VI b/ANT III |
0.31–1.13 (0.44) |
0.31–0.52 |
0.44–0.49 |
ANT IV/ANT III |
0.36–0.90 (0.57) |
0.37–0.69 |
0.54–0.62 |
ANT III/BL |
0.06–0.22 (0.13) |
0.16–0.23 |
0.12–0.17 |
ANT III/SIPH |
0.53–2.05 (1.14) |
1.13–2.17 |
1.20–1.47 |
Longest seta on ANT III/ANT III BD |
0.24–0.94 (0.33) |
0.29–0.82 |
0.30–0.43 |
Cephalic frontal seta/ANT III BD |
0.35–2.13 (0.50) |
0.58–1.73 |
0.53–0.62 |
Rostrum/ANT III |
1.54–6.52 (2.94) |
1.45–2.25 |
2.36–2.96 |
Rostrum/BL |
0.30–0.47 (0.37) |
0.31–0.37 |
0.35–0.39 |
URS/ANT Vb or ANT VIb |
1.28–2.35 (2.13) |
1.23–2.00 |
1.68–2.02 |
URS/HT II |
1.49–2.25 (2.13) |
1.51–2.25 |
1.80–1.93 |
URS/SIPH |
0.57–1.48 (1.07) |
0.76–1.18 |
1.07–1.21 |
HFEM/BL |
0.15–0.26 (0.19) |
0.20–0.27 |
0.19–0.21 |
HTIB/BL |
0.28–0.46 (0.33) |
0.38–0.51 |
0.32–0.36 |
HT II/ANT V b or ANT VI b |
0.72–1.19 (1.00) |
0.68–1.00 |
0.87–1.11 |
FIGURE 2.
Aphis polii
sp
.
n.
a–h, apterous vivipara;
a
and
b,
specimens from Ventimiglia (
a
) and Éguilles (
b
) showing variation in shape of siphunculi and cauda;
c,
5-segmented antenna;
d
, 6-segmented antenna;
e
, ultimate rostral segment;
f
, second segment of hind tarsus;
g
, subgenital plate;
h
, cauda;
i
, alate vivipara;
j
, ovipara;
k
, antenna of alate vivipara;
l
, hind tibia of ovipara.
Alate viviparous females
(
17 specimens
/2 samples)
Colour in life unknown. Pigmentation of slide-mounted specimens: ANT rather uniformly brown, except sometimes base of ANT III; head and thorax dark brown; third rostral segment and URS brown; coxae and trochanters brown; femora of fore and mid legs pale brown, of hind legs darker on distal two-thirds; tibiae pale brown except towards apices, tarsi brown; SIPH brown, cauda pale to mid-brown. Dorsal sclerites brown, spiracular plates and marginal sclerites dark brown.
Morphological characters: Body pear-shaped (fig.
2 i
). ANT 5- or 6-segmented (5-segmented in all 13 individuals in sample 4633a from
Corsica
) (fig. 2 k). ANT 0.55–0.68× BL, with PT 1.64–3.16× ANT V b or ANT VI b. ANT III with (4-) 5–8 (-9) secondary rhinaria, varying in size but mostly rather small, distributed in an irregular row over most of its length. Longest setae on ANT III 0.29–0.82× basal diameter of segment, which is more constricted at base than in apterae. Frons convex or with shallow w-shaped outline in dorsal view. Rostrum reaches to the hind coxae. URS pointed with concave sides and 2 accessory setae, its length 1.23–2.00× ANT V b or ANT VI b and 1.51–2.25× HT II. MTu on prothorax medium-sized—
0.015–0.031 mm
in diameter. Forewings with media twice-branched, and hind wings with 2 oblique veins. THR 0.39–0.90. FTC: 3:3:2. HT II
W 0.21
–0.28× HT II L. ABD TERG I to IV with marginal sclerites. Dorsal reticulation distinct. ABD TERG I and VII with small or medium-sized mammariform MTu,
0.010–0.025 mm
of diameter. Marginal seta on ABD TERG I
0.006–0.028 mm
, 0.39–2.33× diameter of the MTu on the same tergite. ABD TERG II–VI without MTu. SIPH cylindrical, imbricated, with small flange, its length 2.89–4.44× its width in the middle and 1.18–1.82× cauda. ABD TERG VIII with 2 setae. Postsiphuncular sclerites present, well-developed. Transverse spino-pleural sclerites present on ABD TERG VI, VII and VIII; that on VI variably developed and sometimes fused laterally with postsiphuncular sclerites to form a continuous broad band across the tergite. Subgenital plate with 2 setae on anterior part of disc and 6–9 on posterior margin. Cauda finger-shaped to elongate conical, with 4–6 setae. For other morphometric data see
Table 1
.
Oviparous females
(
5 specimens
/1 sample)
Colour in life unknown. Pigmentation of slide-mounted specimens: ANT I, II, IV and V mid-brown, ANT III paler; front part of head, third rostral segment and URS brown; coxae and trochanters brown; fore and mid legs mainly pale brown except tibial apices and tarsi; hind femora, tibiae and tarsi brown; SIPH and cauda dark brown (SIPH sometimes paler basally); anal and subgenital plates dark brown; spiracular plates and marginal tubercles dark brown.
Morphological characters: Body broadly oval. ANT 5 -segmented (fig. 2 j). ANT 0.43–0.51× BL. PT 1.39– 1.65× ANT V b. ANT III without sec. rhin. Frons with shallow w-shaped outline in dorsal view. Rostrum reaches beyond the hind coxae. URS pointed with concave sides and 2 accessory setae, its length 1.68–2.02× ANT V b and 1.80–1.93× HT II. MTu on prothorax large-sized—
0.031–0.058 mm
of diameter. THR 0.33–0.67. HT II
W 0.25
– 0.28× HT II L.
Hind
tibiae heavily pigmented, swollen over most of length, reaching a maximum width at midlength of about twice the minimum distal width, and bearing 60–73 rather evenly distributed scent plaques (“pseudosensoria”) (fig. 2 l). FTC: 3:3:2. Dorsal reticulation distinct. ABD TERG I and VII with medium-sized mammariform MTu,
0.018–0.028 mm
of diameter. Marginal seta on ABD TERG I
0.009–0.012 mm
, 0.43–0.61× diameter of the MTu on the same tergite. ABD TERG II–VI without MTu. SIPH cylindrical, imbricated, with normal flange, its length 2.64–3.37× its width in the middle and 1.28–1.37× cauda. ABD TERG VIII with 2 setae. Subgenital plate divided into paired rugose sclerites, with 7–8 setae on posterior edge and 4–5 setae on the central part of each sclerite. Anal plate with setae up to
0.050 mm
long. Cauda bluntly conical with 6–7 setae, its length 0.81–1.01× its basal width. For other morphometric data see
Table 1
.
Intraspecific variability.
A. polii
is known from 17 localities in
France
(including
Corsica
),
Italy
,
Ukraine
,
Lebanon
and
Iran
(fig. 1, black circles 1–17). It is unusual for so much material from diverse locations to be available when describing a new species, and this is reflected in the extent of the observed variation. In particular, apterae from
Ukraine
and
Lebanon
were longer haired than samples from fifteen localities in three other countries. For example, the longest cephalic frontal setae were
0.018–0.034 mm
in specimens from
Ukraine
and
Lebanon
, and
0.009–0.023 mm
in those from other localities, with only the sample from
Iran
(
0.014–0.023 mm
) spanning the two size ranges. No other consistent differences were found between these populations, and the variation in length of setae could be due to differences in macro- or microclimate, or to geographical variation.
Life cycle.
This is a monoecious species reported to live in ant-attended colonies on the apical parts of shoots and sometimes on undersides of leaves of
Teucrium polium
L. (D. Hille Ris Lambers, unpublished field note). Five oviparae were collected in early December at St Baudille, indicating that there is a holocycle in southern
France
.
Leclant (1978, p.79)
noted that males are apterous, but unfortunately there are no males on slides in the collections in Paris or Montpellier. Leclant also wrote that he had found the fundatrix, and provided a photograph of a specimen with a relatively short PT and short SIPH and cauda labelled as such. However, when morphometric data for all the apterous specimens collected in early spring were compared with data for apterae collected at other times of year, none of the early spring specimens had the distinctive features that one would expect in a fundatrix morph.
An apterous vivipara was collected along with the oviparae by Leclant in early December at St Baudille, and collections in the same month at St Saturnin-les-Apt and Source du Lez were all of apterous viviparae, indicating that overwintering of parthenogenetic generations (anholocycly) occurs in southern
France
. The relatively short PT, SIPH and cauda of some specimens may be due to development at low temperature. It seems likely that parthenogenetic overwintering of this species occurs wherever conditions permit.
FIGURE 3.
Bivariate plot of the lengths in mm of URS vs. the length of HT II in
Aphis polii
(n=141 from mainland France, Corsica, Italy, Ukraine, Iran, Lebanon),
Aphis alienus
(n=10 from Spain and UK-Scotland) and
Aphis teucrii
(n=23 from Austria, Czech Republic, mainland France, Italy, Switzerland, Corsica, Lebanon); Symbols:
Aphis polii
(+), holotype of
A. polii
(♦),
Aphis alienus
(□) and
Aphis teucrii
(∆).
Note:
holotype of
A. polii
is indicated by arrow.
Diagnosis.
Thirty-five species of the genus
Aphis
live on the family
Lamiaceae
worldwide (
Blackman & Eastop 2006
). Many of these, including
A. polii
and the other two species that feed specifically on plants of the genus
Teucrium
(
A. teucrii
and
A. alienus
), belong to the
frangulae
/
gossypii
group. Members of this group are in general more readily distinguished by biological and molecular rather than morphological differences (
Stroyan 1984
; Coeur d’acier
et al
. 2007;
Kim & Lee 2008
;
Kim
et al
. 2010
;
Cocuzza & Cavalieri 2014
;
Lagos-Kutz
et al
. 2014
). Comparing
A. polii
with the other Lamiaceae-feeding
Aphis
species, only
A. clinepetae
Pashtshenko, 1993
,
A. passeriniana
(del
Guercio, 1900
) and
A. raji
(
Kumar & Burkhardt, 1970
)
have such a high ratio of URS/HT II; this ratio is
1.49–2.25 in
A. polii
,
1.50–1.90 in
A. clinepetae
,
1.54–2.02 in
A. passeriniana
,
and 2.00–
2.20 in
A. raji
(
Stroyan 1984
;
Pashtshenko 1993
;
Blackman & Eastop 2015
). Apterous viviparae of
A. polii
have shorter cephalic frontal setae than those of
A. clinepetae
;
0.007–0.032 mm
, as opposed to
0.031–0.056 mm
in
A. clinepetae
(
Pashtshenko 1993
)
. In apterous viviparae of
A. passeriniana
the rostrum only reaches to about midway between the mid and hind coxae, whereas the rostrum reaches to or just passes the hind coxae in apterae of
A. polii
, and the alatae of
A. passeriniana
have conspicuously large and dark postsiphuncular sclerites, much darker than the marginal and posterior abdominal sclerites (
Stroyan 1984
), whereas the dorsal abdominal sclerites of alate
A. polii
are all similarly pigmented. In apterous viviparae of
A. raji
the URS is distinctly longer (
0.190–0.230 mm
) than in
A. polii
(
0.091–0.151 mm
).
A. raji
also has setae on ANT III that are about twice as long as the basal diameter of the segment, whereas in
A. polii
these setae are shorter than the basal diameter (
Kumar & Burkhardt 1970
;
Blackman & Eastop 2015
). These species all have specific associations with different host plants. According to
Pashtshenko (1993)
,
A. clinepetae
lives on
Clinopodium chinense
and
Nepeta manchuriensis
, while according to
Stroyan (1984)
and
García Prieto & Nieto Nafría (2005)
A. passeriniana
inhabits
Salvia
spp., and according to
Blackman & Eastop (2015)
A. raji
is recorded from
Callicarpa
,
Colebrookea
and
Salvia
. The morphological feature that they share—the long URS—is probably a convergent adaptation for feeding on the tomentose stems and undersides of leaves of these plants.
The new species seems to be specific to
Teucrium polium
. Of the other two
Aphis
species associated specifically with
Teucrium
, only
A. teucrii
has been recorded from
T. polium
(
Holman 2009
)
.
A. alienus
is mostly found on stem bases and rhizomes of
T. scorodonia
(
Stroyan 1984
)
.
A. teucrii
seems less specific in its choice of
Teucrium
spp. and is normally recorded from the aerial parts, apart from one sample in the BMNH collection from roots of
T. chamaedrys
in
Czech Republic
. Apterous viviparae of
A. alienus
and
A. teucrii
are separated from those of
A. polii
in a bivariate plot of the length of URS vs. the length of HT II (fig. 3). The same discriminant can be used for alatae.
A. alienus
and
A. teucrii
are less easy to separate, and have been suspected to be synonymous (
Blackman & Eastop 2006
), but there are consistent differences in the shape of the SIPH of apterous viviparae and in the incidence of marginal tubercles (see key to aphids on
Teucrium
in
Blackman & Eastop 2015
).
Five other species of the genus
Aphis
—
A. fabae
,
A. frangulae
,
A. gossypii
,
A. origani
and
A. salviae
have been recorded from
Teucrium
spp. (
García Prieto & Nieto Nafría 2005
;
Holman 2009
;
Blackman & Eastop 2015
). The first three of these are polyphagous.
A. origani
feeds specifically on
Origanum
and
A. salviae
on
Salvia
, so the single records of these species on
Teucrium
may be based on misidentifications, or sampling of vagrants on unsuitable host plants. The new species can again be distinguished from these four species by its URS/HT II ratio;
1.49–2.25 in
A. polii
, while it is
0.85–1.50 in
the other species.