Peer-review: Yes - Open Access: Yes|http://science.thomsonreuters.com/cgi-bin/jrnlst/jlresults.cgi?PC=MASTER&ISSN=0022-0493

The Western wheat aphis was originally described by Professor Gillette in Entomological News for December, 1911. Concerning it he remarks, "This is seemingly a rather rare species occurring upon grasses and has been taken several times by L. C. Bragg upon the leaves of blue stem (Agropyron glauC'Um) and upon wheat during the summer months in the vicinity of Fort Collins." In Montana this insect first attracted attention in 1910 when reports came to the experiment station that a plant louse was destroying winter wheat in a few localitiesin Fergus County. An investigation of these reports brought out the fact that more injury was being one than we had believed a grain plant louse capable of doing. In one instance grower who had 700 acres of wheat estimated his loss due to wheat aphis at 5,000 bushels. Another grower had 80 acres of winter wheat so badly injured that no attempt was made to harvest it. Since 1910 the Western wheat aphis has become increasingly abundant in Fergus County and has appeared in injurious numbers in several other counties. During the. past two seasons in Montana, with the exception of the army cutworm (Chorizagrotis agrestis Grote), it has ranked as the most destructive insect pest of winter wheat. Since economic entomological literature contains no account of the Western wheat aphis, and because of the great economic importance of its host plant, this paper has been prepared to bring together some of the facts which have been learned about this new pest of wheat.

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