At the moment, we do not know of confirmed infestations within the state of Kansas, with the nearest verified sightings occurring about midway through Iowa and Missouri. It is the only aphid in North America to develop large colonies on soybeans. Two wingless generations are completed on buckthorn before the first winged generation is produced early in the year. The winged aphids leave buckthorn for soybeans, where many generations of mostly female offspring develop. In the fall, winged females fly back to buckthorn, producing a wingless generation of female aphids.
Males leave soybean fields to mate with the females located on buckthorn.
These females then lay eggs on buckthorn. The eggs on buckthorn allow the aphid to survive the winter in some locations, thus providing the seed stock for the cycle to repeat during the next growing season. Leaves may be distorted, turn yellow, and plant parts may become covered with a dark sooty mold that grows on the honeydew or waste products released by the aphids. This aphid also can transmit many virus diseases including alfalfa mosaic, soybean mosaic, bean yellow mosaic, peanut mottle, peanut stunt, and peanut stripe. Depending on the disease, virus-affected plants often exhibit symptoms of mosaic or yellow and green mottling of leaves, pronounced distortion of leaves, deformed pods, fewer pods, and discolored seed.