First records of the invasive aphid species, Aphis spiraecola, in Kosovo, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom and Denmark

Abstract

In the last few decades, the spiraea aphid (Aphis spiraecola Patch) has become a widely distributed pest of apple and citrus orchards across Europe. In our study, A. spiraecola was observed for the first time in Kosovo, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom and Denmark, in apple orchards in the growing seasons of 2016, 2018 and 2019. The presence of A. spiraecola was also recorded on other host plants such as the quince (Cydonia oblonga Miller) and Vanhoutte spiraea (Spiraea × vanhouttei) in Slovakia, and the quince, common pear (Pyrus communis Linnaeus) and firethorn (Pyracantha coccinea M.J. Roemer) in the United Kingdom. Based on the morphological characteristics and the sequencing of the DNA mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene (COI fragment) barcode, our study confirms the presence of this pest in five additional regions in Europe.