Bug FAQBird Cherry-oat Aphid
Rhopalosiphum padi · Order: Hemiptera · Family: Aphididae
Also called: Cereal Aphid, Oat-birdcherry aphid
Source: Wikipedia
The bird cherry-oat aphid lives on cereal crops in temperate regions and overwinters on common choke-cherry. It feeds by sucking sap from major cereals and pasture grasses, making it a serious pest for barley, oats, wheat and other grasses. Natural predators like carabid beetles, spiders and other aphid-eating arthropods can help keep its numbers down.
Source: Wikipedia
How to get rid of it
Aphid-eating arthropods can reduce its population density. Generalist predators such as carabid beetles and spiders, which live at the base of cereal stems, also help keep numbers low.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It is a major pest of cereal crops in temperate regions. It overwinters on common choke-cherry (Prunus virginiana).
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
It sucks plant sap and attacks all major cereals and pasture grasses, especially barley, oats and wheat.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
It has a worldwide distribution.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 39 of 51 states and DC. Most records: California, Illinois, Washington, Minnesota, Alaska, Idaho, New York, North Carolina.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
How does the bird cherry-oat aphid damage crops?
It sucks sap from cereal plants, weakening them and spreading viral diseases.
Source: Wikipedia
What natural enemies can control this aphid?
Aphid-eating insects and spiders, including carabid beetles, feed on it and can lower its numbers.
Source: Wikipedia
Where does this aphid spend the winter?
It overwinters on common choke-cherry (Prunus virginiana).
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Aphididae)
Melon AphidAphis gossypiiDamages trees, gardens or crops
Oleander AphidAphis neriiDamages trees, gardens or crops
Witch-hazel Cone Gall AphidHormaphis hamamelidis
Beech Blight AphidGrylloprociphilus imbricatorDamages trees, gardens or crops
Rice Root AphidTetraneura nigriabdominalis
Bean AphidAphis fabaeDamages trees, gardens or cropsSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhopalosiphum_padi
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.