The bird cherry-oat aphid Rhopalosiphum padi (L.) transmits the nonpersistent Potato virus Y (PVY) to seed potatoes. Planting a nonvirus host plant around the main crop can reduce PVY incidence, because aphids tend to land in high numbers at the edge of a field and the crop border acts as a virus sink. This study determined R. padi landing and settling preferences and reproductive rates on thre...

The Russian wheat aphid, Diuraphis noxia (Kurdjumov) (Homoptera: Aphididae), is one of the most devastating insect pests of wheat (Triticum spp.) and barley (Hordeum spp.) in the world. Yield losses and control costs are valued at several hundred million dollars each year. The use of D. noxia-resistant cultivars is an ecologically, economically, and biologically sound method of managing this pe...

Insect natural enemies (predators and parasitoids) provide important ecosystem services by suppressing populations of insect pests in many agricultural crops. However, the role of natural enemies against cereal aphids in Michigan winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is largely unknown. The objectives of this research were to characterize the natural enemy community in wheat fields and evaluate t...