Chrysanthemum Aphid
Macrosiphoniella sanborni (Gillette)
📖 Description
Chrysanthemum Aphid (Macrosiphoniella sanborni), also called Chrysanthemum Aphid or Black Chrysanthemum Aphid, is the most important sap-sucking pest of chrysanthemum across the Indian subcontinent, particularly severe in the major chrysanthemum-growing belts of Tamil Nadu (Ooty, Kodaikanal, Yercaud, Coimbatore), Karnataka (Bangalore, Mysore), Andhra Pradesh (Tirupati), Telangana (Hyderabad), Maharashtra (Pune, Nashik), West Bengal (Kalimpong, Darjeeling) and Odisha where India cultivates over 35,000 hectares of chrysanthemum (loose flowers and cut flowers combined — Tamil Nadu alone cultivates chrysanthemum on over 14,000 hectares). The pest is unusual among aphids because (a) it is essentially monophagous on chrysanthemum and a few related Asteraceae, allowing populations to build up rapidly on the preferred host, (b) the pest prefers to feed on the tender growing tips and flower buds where its damage is most economically damaging (deformed buds fail to open or open with discoloured and twisted petals, rendering cut flowers unsaleable), (c) the pest has a very short life cycle (10-15 days) allowing rapid population buildup — a single female can produce 60-100 nymphs in her lifetime, (d) the pest transmits Chrysanthemum Virus B and other non-persistent viruses which can build up over successive cycles of vegetative propagation, gradually reducing vigour and bloom quality in commercial plantings established from cuttings, (e) the pest is particularly severe in protected cultivation (greenhouses, shade nets, polyhouses) where natural enemies are excluded and warm conditions favour rapid buildup, and (f) the pest has developed resistance to many insecticides due to repeated spraying on commercial cut-flower crops. IPM with virus-free cutting certification, yellow sticky trap monitoring, biological control (Aphidius parasitoid, conservation of native ladybird beetles, Chrysoperla releases), neem-based sprays, need-based insecticide rotation, and ant control provides effective and sustainable control. The pest is a particular concern for commercial cut-flower growers because of strict export tolerance limits for insecticide residues on cut flowers, making organic or biological control approaches especially attractive for this crop.
⚠️ Symptoms to watch for
- Yellowing and curling of leaves, distortion and stunting of new growth, deformed flower buds (fail to open or open with discoloured and twisted petals), copious honeydew deposition leads to sooty mold growth on leaves (reduces photosynthesis), general plant decline and reduced bloom quality, transmission of Chrysanthemum Virus B and other non-persistent viruses, yield loss 20-40% in commercial chrysanthemum cultivation, complete loss of market value in severely affected cut-flower crops
🩹 Treatment
- Install yellow sticky traps @ 20/ha for monitoring, spray neem oil 1% on colonies (focus on leaf undersides and flower buds), release Aphidius colemani parasitoids, conserve native ladybird beetles (Menochilus sexmaculatus), prune and destroy heavily infested shoots to remove colonies, control ants (which tend and protect aphids)
🌿 Organic treatments
- Release Aphidius colemani @ 50,000/ha (parasitoid), spray neem oil 1% + 5 g/L soap on leaf undersides and flower buds, apply Verticillium lecanii @ 5 g/L, spray NSKE 5%, release Chrysoperla carnea @ 50,000/ha (lacewing predator), apply Beauveria bassiana @ 5 g/L, conserve native ladybird beetles (Menochilus, Coccinella) and hoverfly larvae, spray fish oil rosin soap 25 g/L, prune and burn heavily infested shoots
🧪 Chemical treatments
- Imidacloprid 17.8 SL @ 0.3 ml/L, Thiamethoxam 25 WG @ 0.2 g/L, Acetamiprid 20 SP @ 0.2 g/L, Pymetrozine 50 WG @ 0.3 g/L, Flonicamid 50 WG @ 0.3 g/L, Spiromesifen 240 SC @ 0.5 ml/L — rotate modes of action to slow resistance development. Note: avoid spraying insecticides on open flowers as it affects pollinators and may leave residues on cut flowers
🛡️ Prevention
- Plant virus-free certified cuttings from reputable nurseries, inspect new arrivals carefully and quarantine for 14 days before introducing into main plantation, destroy weed hosts (Sonchus, Erigeron, Senecio) around fields, control ants aggressively with poisoned baits, balanced fertilization (avoid excess nitrogen which favours aphid population buildup), maintain proper spacing to reduce humidity buildup, prune and destroy heavily infested shoots, use yellow sticky traps @ 20/ha for monitoring, plant resistant varieties where available, practice crop rotation with non-hosts, avoid overhead irrigation (use drip) which favours aphid-spread
🪴 Affected plants
- Chrysanthemum (all types — standard, spray, pompon, decorative), Other Asteraceae Ornamentals (Dahlia, Aster, Zinnia, Calendula, Marigold rarely)
🦋 Natural predators
- Aphidius colemani (parasitoid), Aphidoletes aphidimyza (gall midge larva), Menochilus sexmaculatus (ladybird), Coccinella septempunctata (ladybird), Chrysoperla carnea (lacewing), Syrphid Fly Larvae, Predatory Bugs (Mirid, Anthocorid), Spiders
🌱 Host plants
- Chrysanthemum morifolium, Chrysanthemum indicum, Dahlia spp., Aster spp., Zinnia elegans, Calendula officinalis
🔄 Lifecycle
- Female gives birth to 30-80 live nymphs parthenogenetically (no mating required in tropical and greenhouse populations).
- Nymphs pass through 4 instars over 7-10 days.
- Adult lifespan 20-30 days; female may produce 60-100 nymphs in her lifetime.
- Total life cycle 10-15 days at 22-28°C; 20-25 overlapping generations per year.
- Sexual reproduction with eggs occurs only in cool temperate outdoor populations on overwintering host plants.
📅 Season
- Year-round in protected cultivation; outdoors peaks Sep-Feb (cool season — main flowering season for chrysanthemum in India) and Apr-Jun
🔎 Appearance
- Adult is a small, plump, oval aphid with a glossy dark brownish-black to almost black body, dark legs with pale bases, dark cornicles and a pale cauda; antennae longer than the body, 6-segmented.
- Winged forms (alates) have a dark dorsal patch on the abdomen.
- Nymphs are smaller, wingless and somewhat paler brown.
- Colony typically clusters on the undersides of leaves, on tender stems and flower buds, often hidden among the dense foliage of chrysanthemum plants.
- Heavy infestations give the plants a shiny, sticky appearance due to honeydew.
💥 Damage level
- Moderate
🔁 Reproduction rate
- Fast
🗺️ Geographic regions
- Indian Subcontinent
- South Asia
- Southeast Asia
- Cosmopolitan in Temperate and Subtropical Chrysanthemum-Growing Regions Worldwide
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