Diversity and Species Distribution of Aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) in District Sargodha (Punjab, Pakistan)
Diversity and Species Distribution of Aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) in District Sargodha (Punjab, Pakistan)
Muhammad Faisal Riaz1, Abu Bakar Muhammad Raza1*, Muhammad Zeeshan Majeed1 and Talha Nazir2
ABSTRACT
Aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) are small soft-bodied sap-sucking insects with about 5,000 described species worldwide. Many of the aphid species are destructive pests of a wide array of horticultural and agricultural plants. This study determined the prevailing diversity of aphids on different economically important plantations in district Sargodha. From November to April 2018-2019 and 2019-2020, about 51,000 apterous adult aphid specimens were collected from various plantations from all six tehsils of district Sargodha and were identified up to species level. Richness and relative abundance of different aphid species were determined by calculating Shannon Wiener’s (H’), Evenness (J’), Dominance (D) and Sampson’s diversity indices. Results revealed a total of 19 aphid species belonging to 12 genera from district Sargodha. Brevicoryne brassicae was recorded as the most abundant species with 8,470 (16.6%) specimens, followed by Myzus persicae with 6,655 (13%) and Aphis gossypii with 5,348 (10.5%) specimens. While, Sitobion rosaeformis with 276 (0.5%) and Aphis nerii with 210 (0.4%) specimens were recorded as the least abundant species. Maximum aphid diversity was recorded on cereal and oilseed crops, while minimum was observed on loquat and citrus plantations. Moreover, maximum aphid population was recorded in the 1st fortnight of March in most plantations sampled. These results demonstrate the prevailing diversity of this economically important family of pest insects and would be helpful in future studies regarding their management.
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June 2022
Vol. 38, Iss. 2, Pages 388-758
