First Records of Two Species of the Genus Illinoia Wilson, 1910 (Hemiptera: Aphididae) in Bulgaria

Two aphid species of the genus Illinoia Wilson, 1910 are reported for the first time in Bulgaria, Illinoia (Illinoia) azaleae (Mason, 1925) and Illinoia (Masonaphis) lambersi (MacGillivray, 1960). They are pest mainly on Rhododendron sp. and were collected from important ornamental plants in two garden centres in Sofia and the village of Ravda, Burgas Region. The new records are provided with original illustrations based on Bulgarian materials

First Record of Elatobium abietinum (Walker, 1849) (Hemiptera, Sternoryncha, Aphididae) on Picea spp. in Bulgaria

Elatobium abietinum is reported for the first time in Bulgaria. The aphid was found in the spring of 2014 in three private properties near Sofia (Bistritsa, Pancharevo and Dragalevtsi) on Norway spruce, Picea abies (L.) H. KARST. and Colorado spruce, Picea pungens ENGLEM. Both Picea species are often used in gardens and landscaping. The damage caused by the aphid leads to the full loss of needles from infested branches. In this paper, a brief description of the morphology of E. abietinum is given, accompanied with data on its distribution and biological characteristics. Previous studies in several countries indicated that the aphid is a hazard for both large-sized spruce trees in landscape situations and small-sized trees in nurseries

Aphids (Hemiptera, Aphididae) on ornamental plants in greenhouses in Bulgaria

Investigations on the species composition and host range of aphids on ornamental greenhouse plants in Bulgaria was conducted over a period of five years, from 2008 to 2012. Twenty greenhouses, growing ornamentals for landscaping, plant collections and other purposes were observed. They were located in the regions of Sofia, Plovdiv, Smolyan, Pavlikeni, Varna and Burgas. The total number of collected aphid samples was 279. Their composition included 33 aphid species and one subspecies from 13 genera and 5 subfamilies. Twenty-eight species were found to belong to subfamily Aphidinae. Almost 70 % of all recorded species were polyphagous. The most widespread aphid species was Myzus persicae, detected in 13 greenhouses all year round, followed by Aulacorthum solani (10 greenhouses) and Aphis gossypii (9 greenhouses). The widest host range was shown by Myzus persicae (43 hosts), Aulacorthum solani (32 hosts) and Aulacorthum circumflexum (23 hosts).The list of host plants includes 114 species from 95 genera and 58 families. The greatest variety of aphid species was detected on Hibiscus (9 species). Out of all aphid samples 12.9 % were collected on Hibiscus and 6.8 %, on Dendranthema. The greatest variety of aphid species was detected on Hibiscus (9 species).Periphyllus californiensis and Aphis (Aphis) fabae mordvilkoi are reported for the first time for Bulgaria. Furthermore, Aphis spiraecola has been found in new localities and has widened its host range in this country