The objective of this work was to determine the flight patterns and the influence of meteorological factors and Brassicaceae on the populations of the alate aphids Brevicoryne brassicae, Lipaphis erysimi and Myzus persicae. The alate aphids were sampled using yellow water traps between July of 1997 and August of 2005. The Pearson partial correlation was used to determine the influence of air temperature, relative humidity, rainfall and insolation on the abundance of alate. The influence of Brassicaceae was assessed by accumulated degree-days above the temperature threshold of these plants. Lipaphis erysimi was more abundant than M. persicae and B. brassicae. The alate B. brassicae showed the highest flight frequency between August and October, with the abundance peak in September. The flight frequency of L. erysimi and M. persicae were longer than B. brassicae, with the alate abundance peaks of L. erysimi and M. persicae observed from April to November and from June to October, respectively. The population of B. brassicae showed significant correlation with the maximum and minimum temperatures, insolation and relative humidity, while L. erysimi and M. persicae were only affected by insolation and relative humidity.
Brassica oleracea; population dynamics; dispersion; flight pattern; aphid
