New Bamboo Eating Aphid Discovered in Costa Rica

Posted on February 6, 2012

A new species of bamboo-feeding plant lice has been discovered in Costa Rica's high-altitude region "Cerro de la Muerte." The discovery was made thanks to molecular data analysis of mitochondrial DNA. A microscope-enhanced photo of the newly found aphid (plant lice), Rhopalosipum chusqueae, is pictured above.

The researchers say many plant lice species feed only on one type (or even species) of plant. This aphid appears to eat only one type of bamboo.

The research was published here in ZooKeys. ZooKeys 166: 59�73, doi: 10.3897/zookeys.166.2387

PLANTS