{"id":822,"date":"2016-01-09T23:58:41","date_gmt":"2016-01-09T23:58:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/?page_id=822"},"modified":"2024-12-16T20:09:21","modified_gmt":"2024-12-16T20:09:21","slug":"metopolophium","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/?page_id=822","title":{"rendered":"Metopolophium"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong><em>Metopolophium<\/em> Mordvilko<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This page updated:\u00a0December 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a genus of mostly grass-feeders, something in the ballpark of 20 species worldwide.\u00a0 The taxonomy of the genus is not easy and probably needs much more work before the species are understood and the relationship between this genus and <em>Sitobion<\/em> can be clearly described. In North America, it seems like most of the species are introduced from elsewhere, exceptions being <em>Metopolophium palmerae<\/em> (Hille Ris Lambers) in Colorado and <em>Metopolophium arctogenicolens<\/em> Richards from the Arctic.\u00a0 I have some puzzling stories of <em>Metopolophium<\/em> in western North America that probably deserve further study.\u00a0 Three are mentioned below, alas not all with good photos as yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"species-list\">Species covered below (click on the name to jump to that species):<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"#m-dirhodum\"><em>Metopolophium dirhodum <\/em>(Walker)<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#m-festucae\"><em>Metopolophium festucae<\/em> (Theobald)<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#m-frisicum\"><em>Metopolophium frisicum<\/em> Hille Ris Lambers<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"m-dirhodum\"><strong><em>Metopolophium dirhodum <\/em>(Walker)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a very widespread and common pest of grains in temperate regions of the world.&nbsp; It is has capably invaded many natural systems in western North America, being common on several species of <em>Rosa<\/em> (its overwintering host), and many grasses from ocean shore to sub-alpine environments.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Metopolophium-dirhodum-ex-Glossopetalon-Hells-Canyon-30-iv-2011.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-823\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"220\" src=\"https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Metopolophium-dirhodum-ex-Glossopetalon-Hells-Canyon-30-iv-2011-300x220.jpg\" alt=\"Metopolophium dirhodum from the Hells Canyon plant, Glossopetalon.\" class=\"wp-image-823\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Metopolophium-dirhodum-ex-Glossopetalon-Hells-Canyon-30-iv-2011-300x220.jpg 300w, https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Metopolophium-dirhodum-ex-Glossopetalon-Hells-Canyon-30-iv-2011-768x563.jpg 768w, https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Metopolophium-dirhodum-ex-Glossopetalon-Hells-Canyon-30-iv-2011.jpg 930w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Metopolophium dirhodum<\/em> from the Hells Canyon plant, Glossopetalon.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The puzzle I found regarding this species was a confirmed use of a rare native cliff-dwelling plant in Hells Canyon, Idaho: <em>Glossopetalon nevadense<\/em> (Crossosomataceae).&nbsp; The aphids were numerous and were just maturing to alate viviparae when I collected them on 30 April.&nbsp; I have quite a few photos of <em>M. dirhodum<\/em> because it inevitably is common in gardens.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Metopolophium-dirhodum-ex-Rosa-Eagle-13-iv-2012-2.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-824\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"754\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Metopolophium-dirhodum-ex-Rosa-Eagle-13-iv-2012-2.jpg\" alt=\"Metopolophium dirhodum fundatrix from our garden in Idaho.\" class=\"wp-image-824\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Metopolophium-dirhodum-ex-Rosa-Eagle-13-iv-2012-2.jpg 754w, https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Metopolophium-dirhodum-ex-Rosa-Eagle-13-iv-2012-2-300x271.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 754px) 100vw, 754px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Metopolophium dirhodum<\/em> fundatrix from our garden in Idaho.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Metopolophium-dirhodum-ex-Rose-Prosser-x-2010.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-825\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"820\" height=\"660\" src=\"https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Metopolophium-dirhodum-ex-Rose-Prosser-x-2010.jpg\" alt=\"Metopolophium dirhodum from roses in our Idaho garden in the fall.\" class=\"wp-image-825\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Metopolophium-dirhodum-ex-Rose-Prosser-x-2010.jpg 820w, https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Metopolophium-dirhodum-ex-Rose-Prosser-x-2010-300x241.jpg 300w, https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Metopolophium-dirhodum-ex-Rose-Prosser-x-2010-768x618.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Metopolophium dirhodum<\/em> from roses in our Idaho garden in the fall.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Metopolophium-dirhodum-male-ovip-Eagle-26-x-2011.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-826\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1122\" height=\"1045\" src=\"https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Metopolophium-dirhodum-male-ovip-Eagle-26-x-2011.jpg\" alt=\"Metopolophium dirhodum alate male and ovipara from our Idaho garden.\" class=\"wp-image-826\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Metopolophium-dirhodum-male-ovip-Eagle-26-x-2011.jpg 1122w, https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Metopolophium-dirhodum-male-ovip-Eagle-26-x-2011-300x279.jpg 300w, https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Metopolophium-dirhodum-male-ovip-Eagle-26-x-2011-768x715.jpg 768w, https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Metopolophium-dirhodum-male-ovip-Eagle-26-x-2011-1024x954.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1122px) 100vw, 1122px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Metopolophium dirhodum<\/em> alate male and ovipara from our Idaho garden.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><a href=\"#species-list\">Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"m-festucae\"><strong><em>Metopolophium festucae<\/em> (Theobald)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This aphid is very interesting to me, it being a shining example of a non-native species that has effectively penetrated all sorts of habitats in western North America. Specimens that key to <em>M. festucae<\/em> are among the most common on various grasses in the forests and hillsides I frequent.&nbsp; It can be incredibly abundant in mountain meadows, for example, that are only lightly impacted by humans and <a href=\"https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/?p=1479\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">cattle grazing<\/a>. It is also a common find in cities and towns on various cultivated and weedy grasses.&nbsp; Interestingly, it was also the most common <em>Metopolophium<\/em> on grasses during my two recent trips to Germany and neighboring countries.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/IMG_0875.jpg\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/IMG_0875-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1604\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/IMG_0875-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/IMG_0875-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/IMG_0875-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/IMG_0875-624x468.jpg 624w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An example of a semi-natural habitat for <em>Metopolophium festucae<\/em> in the mountains of the Fremont-Winema National Forest, Oregon.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The literature includes a subspecies, called <em>M. f. cerealium<\/em> Stroyan, that is said to differ from most <em>M. festucae<\/em> in that it colonizes and damages cereal crops.&nbsp; There are slight morphological differences that seem to relate to this subspecies compared to other <em>M. festucae<\/em>, but as so often occurs in aphid taxonomy, there is overlap and no clear way to consistently separate the two subspecies (Incidentally, I am personally not a big fan of naming aphid subspecies, which I should write about elsewhere someday).&nbsp; I am very interested in whether the <em>M. festucae<\/em> I see throughout the West in natural systems is the same as the form that has recently been documented on cereals in the Northwest.&nbsp; The ecological connection between these native systems and agriculture would be very interesting to study and come to understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"#species-list\">Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"m-frisicum\"><strong><em>Metopolophium frisicum<\/em> Hille Ris Lambers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Metopolophium-frisicum-ex-grass-Stonehouse-Creek-20-iv-2012-3.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-829\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"159\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Metopolophium-frisicum-ex-grass-Stonehouse-Creek-20-iv-2012-3-159x300.jpg\" alt=\"Metopolophium frisicum alate from a draw above the Alvord Desert in eastern Oregon in April.\" class=\"wp-image-829\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Metopolophium-frisicum-ex-grass-Stonehouse-Creek-20-iv-2012-3-159x300.jpg 159w, https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Metopolophium-frisicum-ex-grass-Stonehouse-Creek-20-iv-2012-3.jpg 441w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 159px) 100vw, 159px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Metopolophium frisicum alate from a draw above the Alvord Desert in eastern Oregon in April.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>This species has not been confirmed from North America, although apparently there was a record by B\u00f6rner of it somewhere on the continent (see <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aphidsonworldsplants.info\/d_APHIDS_M.htm#Metopolophium\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Blackman and Eastop<\/a>). I have now collected what seems, based on available keys and descriptions, to be <em>M. frisicum<\/em> in Washington, Oregon, and Colorado.&nbsp; When I&#8217;ve found it, it was feeding on a fine grass in the shade or in a wet cool hollow.&nbsp; With the morphology and habitat type fitting so closely the account by Hille Ris Lambers, I actually feel fairly confident about this identification.&nbsp; The localities where I found this aphid were partly natural, or might have appeared native, but they were heavily impacted by cattle grazing &#8212; situations in which the grasses are usually non-native (and also a situation in which I wish I knew grass taxonomy).<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Metopolophium-frisicum-ex-grass-Stonehouse-Creek-20-iv-2012-2.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-831\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"589\" height=\"667\" src=\"https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Metopolophium-frisicum-ex-grass-Stonehouse-Creek-20-iv-2012-2.jpg\" alt=\"Metopolophium frisicum apterous vivipara from a draw above the Alvord Desert in eastern Oregon in April.\" class=\"wp-image-831\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Metopolophium-frisicum-ex-grass-Stonehouse-Creek-20-iv-2012-2.jpg 589w, https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Metopolophium-frisicum-ex-grass-Stonehouse-Creek-20-iv-2012-2-265x300.jpg 265w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 589px) 100vw, 589px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Metopolophium frisicum apterous vivipara from a draw above the Alvord Desert in eastern Oregon in April.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><a href=\"#species-list\">Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Metopolophium Mordvilko This page updated:\u00a0December 2024. This is a genus of mostly grass-feeders, something in the ballpark of 20 species worldwide.\u00a0 The taxonomy of the genus is not easy and probably needs much more work before the species are understood and the relationship between this genus and Sitobion can be clearly described. In North America, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":741,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-822","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/822","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=822"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/822\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2199,"href":"https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/822\/revisions\/2199"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aphidtrek.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}