About Macrosiphum euphorbiae (Thomas, 1878)
The wingless female potato aphid, Macrosiphum euphorbiae, is typically green or occasionally pink, and often has a darker dorsal stripe. It has a pear-shaped body that grows to about four millimetres long. Its antennae are dark at the joints between segments, longer than the body, and positioned on outward-facing tubercles. Its legs are longer than those of other aphids, pale green, and darker at the tips. The pale, cylindrical siphunculi have dark tips and operculi, and measure about one third the length of the body. The tail is sword-shaped, has 6 to 12 hairs, and is much shorter than the siphunculi. The winged female has a uniformly darker body and appendages, and a green abdomen. Nymphs are miniature versions of adults and go through several moults over the course of about ten days. The green biotype most often occurs on the lower, older leaves of potato plants, while the pink biotype has no such preference. The green biotype is numerically more common on older plants. Macrosiphum euphorbiae originated in North America, but has spread to temperate regions of Europe and Asia, and can be found in all areas where potatoes are grown.
