Cabbage Aphid (Brevicoryne brassicae)

The wingless individuals are bluish-grey with a mealy covering and the adults can be up to 2.5mm long. Winged individuals will arrive in the crop from May to July and in favourable weather conditions (i.e. hot and dry) can form large colonies very quickly.

This pest can be very apparent on winter oilseed rape during the flowering and post-flowering development, because they form dense colonies at the top of individual racemes. However, usually only a small proportion of the racemes are heavily infested during the crops susceptible flowering and early pod set growth stages , and consequently treatments are rarely justified.

However, really heavy infestations can reduce the yield and quality of the seed, and so sampling should take place to see if control is justified.

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