Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

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Aphis spiraecola Patch, 1914

Pulgón, Green citrus aphid

Plant sap; polyphagous (over 20 plant families worldwide); arid zone, pampa zone, transition zone, shrub forest, sparse grass, mossy forest and Scalesia pasture; collected with FIT, sweeping, malaise, carrion and pan traps; April-July. Primary hosts of holocyclic populations are Citrus and Spiraea; important pest of Citrus; a vector of 17 plant viruses. Both anoholocyclic and holocyclic populations exist.

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Animalia

Phylum
Arthropoda

Class
Insecta

Order
Hemiptera

Suborder
Sternorrhyncha

Superfamily
Aphidoidea

Family
Aphididae

Section
Aphidini

Genus
Aphis

Species
spiraecola

Taxon category: Accepted

Origin: Introduced - established

Introduction

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

Distribution

Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.

Distribution: Espanola, Fernandina, Isabela, Santa Cruz, Santiago.

References

  • Peck, S.B. (1996) Origin and development of an insect fauna on a remote archipelago: The Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. In: Keast A., Miller S.E. (eds.): The origin and evolution of Pacific Island biotas, New Guinea to eastern Polynesia: patterns and processes. SPB Academic Publishing, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, p. 91-122.
  • 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 spiraecola", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=11048. Accessed 5 November 2026.