Abstract :
The aphids are tiny sap sucking plant lice that not only infest agricultural and horticultural crops but also spread
several viral diseases. They are very fascinating insects as these are thelytokous parthenogenetic viviparous, having short
generation time and telescopic generation with polymorphism. Many species of aphids display complex life cycles with
alternation of sexual and asexual generations and host plant alternation. Aphids are almost cosmopolitan in distribution, but
are most common in temperate areas. Unlike many taxa, aphid species diversity is much lower in the tropics than in the
temperate zones. They can migrate great distances, mainly through passive dispersal by winds. At present all true aphids
belong to a single family Aphididae which consists of 24 subfamilies. Globally, 5109 species of aphids are described under
527 genera. In India, 794 species of aphids under 208 genera are reported out of which about 385 are endemic.The subfamily
Aphidinae constitutes a monophyletic group within the family with about 3100 extant species worldwide with higher
diversity in temperate regions. In India, 431 species under 105 genera of this subfamily are reported out of which 192 species
are endemic. In this paper, distribution of extant aphid species in different taxa of Aphididae is described.
Keyword :
Aphididae, Aphid diversity, Aphid taxonomy, Hemiptera, Virginoparous.