Broad bean mottle virus (BBMV) was u'ansmitted from infected to healthy faha-bean plants by the curculionid weevils Apion radiolus Kirby, Hypera variabilis Herbst, Pachytychius strumarius Gyll, Smicronyx cyaneus Gyll, and Sitona lineatus L. The latter appeared to be an efficient vector: acquisition and inoculation occurred at the first bite, the rate of transmission was c. 41%, and virus retention lasted for at least seven days. S. lineatus transmitted the virus from faba bean to lentil and pea, but not to the three genotypes of chickpea tested. This is the first report on the genera Hypera,
Pachytychius, and Smicronyx as virus vectors, and on A. radiolus, H. variabilis, P. strumarius, and S. cyaneus as vectors of BBMV.Out of 351 samples of food legumes with symptoms suggestive of virus infection, 16, 1 l, 19, and 17% of the samples of chickpea, lentil, pea, and common bean, respectively, were found infected when tested for BBMV in DAS-ELISA. This is the first report on the natural occurrence of BBMV in chickpea, lentil, pea, and common bean. The virus should be regarded as a food-legume virus rather than a faba-bean virus solely, and is considered an actual threat to food legume improvement programmes.