Talk:Black bean aphid

Black bean aphid has been listed as one of the Natural sciences good articles under the good article criteria. If you can improve it further, please do so. If it no longer meets these criteria, you can reassess it.

Article milestones
Date	Process	Result
January 7, 2013	Good article nominee	Listed

A fact from this article appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the "Did you know?" column on December 7, 2010.

The text of the entry was: Did you know ... that the black bean aphid is able to reproduce asexually, giving birth to live offspring through a process known as parthogenesis?

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GA Review

This review is transcluded from Talk:Aphis fabae/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Reviewer: FunkMonk (talk · contribs) 09:08, 4 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I'll review this article within the next couple of hours. FunkMonk (talk) 09:08, 4 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

First off, why is the title not one of the common names, per Wikipedia policy? Since you use "black bean aphid" throughout, it should probably be moved there, or to what other name is mostly used.

I started this article when I was a novice Wikipedian and I did not know of such a policy. Cwmhiraeth (talk) 11:20, 4 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Alright, the relevant policy is here: http://wiki.riteme.site/wiki/Wikipedia:Article_titles#Common_names FunkMonk (talk) 11:40, 4 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I guess that "black bean aphid" is probably the best title. In the UK it is largely referred to as the "blackfly" but I see that searching for that produces all sorts of anomalous results. Cwmhiraeth (talk) 11:06, 5 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The following sentence may confuse unfamiliar readers: "Aphis fabae is a true bug in the order Hemiptera." Maybe change the wording to "is a member of the order Hemiptera, (also known as) the true bugs"?

Done Cwmhiraeth (talk) 12:20, 4 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The intro needs to summarise more of the article, no visual description is present, for example, or any mention of the interesting fact that there are winged and non-winged forms.

Done Cwmhiraeth (talk) 12:20, 4 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Is it not classified by the IUCN?

No. The IUCN is not interested in the conservation status of pests! Cwmhiraeth (talk) 11:20, 4 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Hahah, good point! Perhaps they should be, see: Rocky Mountain locust FunkMonk (talk) 11:40, 4 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

It needs a taxonomy section.

Done. Cwmhiraeth (talk) 11:06, 5 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

There could be more photos, for example close ups[1] or images of life cycle states, there are no images of eggs or winged specimens[2] either. Some other interesting photos:[3][4][5] I can help you out by looking on Flickr, if you can't find suitable images.

I see you have added some. Thank you. Cwmhiraeth (talk) 11:20, 4 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I think this could be a better taxobox image:[6]

Replaced Cwmhiraeth (talk) 10:46, 7 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

There doesn't seem to be an explanation to why there are winged forms? What's the purpose of this distinction? What circumstances determine which form is born?

Well, wingless forms cannot colonise new host plants. I think overcrowding stimulates the production of winged forms but I will have to find a suitable source for this.

Could be an interesting addition. FunkMonk (talk) 11:42, 4 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Done Cwmhiraeth (talk) 12:20, 4 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Are there any males of this species? What is their function?

I have included more information on males Cwmhiraeth (talk) 10:46, 7 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

"Host plants" should perhaps be a subsection under ecology?

It is very basic to the species and I would prefer to leave it as a separate section. Cwmhiraeth (talk) 10:46, 7 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not sure if it's the same, but there are black, flying aphids that often land on black objects where I live, is it this one? And if so, why is that?

I don't know where you live but in the summer one does find winged aphids all over the place. They clearly do not all locate new host plants. Cwmhiraeth (talk) 10:46, 7 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I found this paper[7] when searching for egg images, perhaps it could be used?

I have added information derived from it. Cwmhiraeth (talk) 10:46, 7 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

That's it from me! FunkMonk (talk) 09:32, 4 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for taking on the review. I ~~will work~~ have worked through the points you raise. Cwmhiraeth (talk) 11:20, 4 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I think it's looking really good now, and many unclear issues have been clarified. My only regret is we couldn't find a photo of an egg... I'll pass it, but I have one last question; are the winged forms asexual as well, do they only exist as females? FunkMonk (talk) 11:11, 7 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

As I understand it, all aphids, both winged and wingless, are female except the males that are produced on the primary hosts in the autumn. I don't specifically know what the males look like. Cwmhiraeth (talk) 11:54, 7 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

GA review (see here for what the criteria are, and here for what they are not)

It is reasonably well written.
a (prose): b (MoS for lead, layout, word choice, fiction, and lists):
It is factually accurate and verifiable.
a (references): b (citations to reliable sources): c (OR):
It is broad in its coverage.
a (major aspects): b (focused):
It follows the neutral point of view policy.
Fair representation without bias:
It is stable.
No edit wars, etc.:
It is illustrated by images, where possible and appropriate.
a (images are tagged and non-free images have fair use rationales): b (appropriate use with suitable captions):
Overall:
Pass/Fail:

Thank you. Cwmhiraeth (talk) 11:54, 7 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]