Green apple aphid (Aphis pomi)
Spiraea aphid (Aphis spireacola)
Pest description and damage These two aphids are virtually indistinguishable so are often treated the same. In some cases, spirea aphid is more common in apples than the apple aphid or green apple aphid. Both are yellowish-green with dark eyes and short antennae. Mature wingless aphids are bright green with black cornicles, legs and antennal tips. The winged adults have a dark, more elongated head and thorax, and yellow-green abdomen and whitish wings.
Biology and life history The aphids overwinter as shiny black, rounded eggs laid on smooth twigs and watersprouts. They are similar in appearance to the rosy apple aphid and the apple grain aphid. The aphids hatch as new growth emerges from the bud. The young females (called stem mothers) produce winged and wingless females parthenogenetically (females require no males) and produce live young. It takes 10-20 days (temperature dependent) to complete a generation and there can be 9-16 generations in a year.
For biology, life history, monitoring and management
See "Aphid" in:
See Table 1 in:
Beers, E.H., S.C. Hoyt, and M. J. Willett.1993. Apple aphid and Spirea aphid (http://jenny.tfrec.wsu.edu/opm/displaySpecies.php?pn-380)