Pseudoregma panicola (Hemiptera: Aphididae), a new report on Arundo donax and its potential as an urban pest in Mexico Pseudoregma panicola (Hemiptera: Aphididae), un registro nuevo sobre Arundo donax y su potencial como plaga urbana en México Academic Article in Scopus uri icon

abstract

  • Aphids are phytophagous insects that can affect the health of wild and urban vegetation, their effect being enhanced when they are exotic. The study was conducted in the garden of the Vasconcelos library, Mexico City. Insects were collected on ornamental Poaceae during December 2019, February 2020, and continued post-pandemic in 2023 (May-August 2023). Organisms were quantified and searched for natural enemies; morphological and molecular analyses of insects and plants were carried out. The aphid was determined as Pseudoregma panicola and Arundo donax as its host and first world report. Pseudoregma panicola and Arundo donax have molecular similarities with populations from Yunnan, China. The review of the scarce material from Mexico shows that P. panicola was collected from 1979 to 1981, on 3 wild species of Poaceae: ca. Phragmites in Morelos, Paspalum sp. and another undetermined species in Tamaulipas. The entomophagous present were: scarce larvae of Chamaemyiidae, and adults of the coccinellids Harmonia axyridis and Hippodamia convergens. The absence of parasitoids during 3 years of research, in addition to the low population of entomophagous, indicates an unfinished process of adaptation to this urban pest. © Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto de Biología. Open Access bajo la licencia CC BY-NC ND (4.0)

publication date

  • November 28, 2025