Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Aphis gossypii
Pulgón, Cotton aphid or cucumber aphid
Plant sap; polyphagous; transition zone, humid forest, agricultural zone, arid zone, pampa, moss elfin forest, open Cordia woodland, palo santo forest; FIT, malaise, pan, carrion and yellow pan traps; March-July. The most common aphid on Pacific islands. Pest of cotton, Curcurbitaceae, potatoes, among others. A complex of several lineages with different host preferences.
Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Insecta
Order
Hemiptera
Suborder
Sternorrhyncha
Superfamily
Aphidoidea
Family
Aphididae
Genus
Aphis
Species
gossypii
Taxon category: Accepted
A. gossypi as A. forbesi (pers. comm Rebecca Turner)
Origin: Introduced - established
Year of first record: 1991
Mode of introduction: Accidental
Introduction Pathway: Contaminant
Subpathway: Contaminant on plants (inc. seeds and plant associated material)
Introduced status: Naturalized
Invasive status: Potentially Invasive
Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.
Distribution: Fernandina, Isabela, Marchena, Santa Cruz, Santiago
- Peck, S.B. Heraty, J., Landry, B. & Sinclair, B.J. (1998) Introduced insect fauna of an oceanic archipelago: The Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Am. Entomol. 44: 218-237.
- Peck, S.B. (2001) Smaller Orders of Insects of the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador: Evolution, Ecology, and Diversity. NRC Research Press, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 278 pp.
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This page should be cited as follows:
"Galapagos Species Database, Aphis gossypii", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=11046. Accessed 1 April 2026.