General
The Green Peach, also know as Peach Potato Aphid (Myzus persicae subsp. persicae) is an important insect pest in sweet pepper, tomato, cucumber and many other greenhouse crops. The aphid may originate from Asia, where its winter-hardy host plant, the peach tree, is native, however it is now a pest with a world-wide distribution. The Green Peach aphid (Myzus persicae subsp. persicae) is a particularly polyphagous aphid with summer host plants from more than 40 different families.
Life cycle and appearance of Green Peach Aphid
Aphids have a complex life cycle, with both winged and wingless forms of adults and a great variety in colour. When reproduction is asexual, the young aphids are born as developed nymphs. They immediately start to feed on plant sap and grow rapidly. When reproduction is sexual, the aphids lay eggs that overwinter. In greenhouses reproduction also takes place by parthenogenesis, with unfertilized viviparous females continuing to produce new generations of females. Aphids moult four times before reaching adulthood. With each moult they shed white skin, betraying their presence in the crop.
Wingless Green Peach Aphids (Myzus persicae subsp. persicae) may be green, white-green, light yellow-green, grey-green, pink or red in colour. They appear matt, never glossy. Winged individuals have a brown-black head and thorax and a yellow-green to green or even reddish abdomen. They have a dark brown spot on the abdomen and several transverse black bands across the body. Nymphs that develop into winged adults are often pink or red in colour.