Taxonomic Documentation of Aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) Associated with Oilseed Crops in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu

Comprehensive survey was undertaken during 2024–25 to document the aphid fauna associated with oilseed crop ecosystems in Tirupati and Chittoor districts of Andhra Pradesh, and Madurai and Virudhunagar districts of Tamil Nadu. The thirteen aphid species, namely Aphis asclepiadis (del Guercio), Aphis craccivora (Koch), Aphis fabae (Scopoli), Aphis nasturtii (Kaltenbach), Acyrthosiphon rubi (Narzikulov), Brachycaudus amygdalinus (Schouteden), Brachycaudus helichrysi (Kaltenbach), Brachycaudus rumexicolens (Patch), Brevicoryne brassicae (Linnaeus), Lipaphis erysimi (Kaltenbach), Myzus dycei (Carver), Sitobion leelamaniae (David) and Uroleucon carthami (Hille Ris Lambers) were recorded . Among these, A. craccivora, A. fabae, A. nasturtii, A. rubi and M. dycei with groundnut crop ecosystem, while A. nasturtii in sesame. The aphid species documented from sunflower crop ecosystems include A. asclepiadis, B. amygdalinus, B. rumexicolens and B. helichrysi, whereas L. erysimi, B. brassicae and M. dycei were recorded from mustard. U. carthami was exclusively associated with safflower. These findings provide baseline information on aphid diversity across major oilseed crop ecosystems of southern India, contributing to future ecological and pest management studies.