Periodic collections of the bird cherry-oat aphid, Rhopalosiphum padi, during two years revealed small populations on winter wheat in Lafayette, Indiana. The greatest numbers were found on volunteer wheat plants before planting. In the autumn, aphids were detected on one-shoot plants by mid-October and also early March. The populations remained small until mid-June. We conclude that the aphid feeding did not significantly affect the plants, but helped spread barley yellow dwarf virus