Cannabis sativa as a Host of Rice Root Aphid (Hemiptera: Aphididae) in North America

Abstract

Rice root aphid, Rhopalosiphum rufiabdominale (Sasaki), is a cosmopolitan species widespread in North America. Most records of this insect are of its association with roots of grasses and sedges, but known hosts also include numerous broadleaved plants both grown outdoors and in greenhouses. Indoor grown Cannabis sativa L., particularly when intensively grown for marijuana production, has also emerged as a common host for this insect in the United States and Canada. On this crop, it has an anholocyclic life cycle where it is almost entirely found in association with plant roots. Colonization of new plants is largely by alate forms that may emerge from soil in large numbers as plants near maturity.