Adelgidae
Encyclopedia
The Adelgidae is a small family of the Homoptera
closely related to the aphid
s, and often traditionally included in the Aphidoidea with the Phylloxeridae. Adelgids are often known as "woolly conifer aphids". The family is composed of species associated with pine
spruce
or other conifers, known respectively as "pine aphids" or "spruce aphids". This family includes the former family Chermesidae, or "Chermidae", the name of which was declared invalid by the ICZN
in 1955. There is still considerable debate as to the number of genera within the family, and the classification is still unstable and inconsistent among competing authors.
There are about fifty species of adelgids known. All of them are native to the northern hemisphere, although some have been introduced to the southern hemisphere as invasive species
. Unlike aphids, the adelgids have no tail-like cauda
and no cornicle
s.
Adelgids only lay eggs, and never give birth to live nymphs as aphids do. Adelgids are covered with dense woolly wax. A complete adelgid life cycle lasts two years. Adelgid nymphs are known as sistentes, and the overwintering sistentes are called neosistens.
Rain can kill adelgids by dislodging eggs and sistentes from trees.
Homoptera
Homoptera is a deprecated suborder of order Hemiptera; recent morphological studies and DNA analysis strongly suggests that the order is paraphyletic. It was therefore split into the suborders Sternorrhyncha, Auchenorrhyncha, and Coleorrhyncha....
closely related to the aphid
Aphid
Aphids, also known as plant lice and in Britain and the Commonwealth as greenflies, blackflies or whiteflies, are small sap sucking insects, and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea. Aphids are among the most destructive insect pests on cultivated plants in temperate regions...
s, and often traditionally included in the Aphidoidea with the Phylloxeridae. Adelgids are often known as "woolly conifer aphids". The family is composed of species associated with pine
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
spruce
Spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical...
or other conifers, known respectively as "pine aphids" or "spruce aphids". This family includes the former family Chermesidae, or "Chermidae", the name of which was declared invalid by the ICZN
International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature
The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature is an organization dedicated to "achieving stability and sense in the scientific naming of animals". Founded in 1895, it currently comprises 28 members from 20 countries, mainly practicing zoological taxonomists...
in 1955. There is still considerable debate as to the number of genera within the family, and the classification is still unstable and inconsistent among competing authors.
There are about fifty species of adelgids known. All of them are native to the northern hemisphere, although some have been introduced to the southern hemisphere as invasive species
Invasive species
"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....
. Unlike aphids, the adelgids have no tail-like cauda
Cauda (disambiguation)
Cauda may refer to:* tail, cauda is the Latin word for tail.* cauda, a feature of Conductus-style music* an aphid body part* Gavdos, a Greek island off the southern coast of Crete...
and no cornicle
Cornicle
The cornicle is one of a pair of small upright backward-pointing tubes found on the dorsal side of the last segment of the bodies of aphids. They are sometimes mistaken for cerci...
s.
Adelgids only lay eggs, and never give birth to live nymphs as aphids do. Adelgids are covered with dense woolly wax. A complete adelgid life cycle lasts two years. Adelgid nymphs are known as sistentes, and the overwintering sistentes are called neosistens.
Rain can kill adelgids by dislodging eggs and sistentes from trees.
Genera
- AdelgesAdelgesAdelges is a genus of insects which feed on conifers.Species include:* Adelges abietis * Adelges cooleyi * Adelges piceae * Adelges tsugae...
- Aphrastasia
- Cholodkovskya
- Dreyfusia
- Eopineus
- Gilletteella
- Pineus
- Sacchiphantes
- Viteus
See also
- Balsam woolly adelgidBalsam woolly adelgidBalsam woolly adelgids are small wingless insects that infest and kill firs, especially Balsam Fir and Fraser Fir. They are an invasive species from Europe introduced to the United States around 1900....
- Gall AdelgidGall AdelgidGall adelgid refers to adelgid species that produce galls in spruce trees, conifer species. Such galls can be produced by an infection by Adelges cooleyi , a species of aphid-like woolly adelgids ...
- Hemlock woolly adelgidHemlock Woolly AdelgidHemlock woolly adelgid , commonly abbreviated as HWA, is a true bug native to East Asia that feeds by sucking sap from hemlock trees . In eastern North America, it is a destructive pest that poses a major threat to the eastern hemlock and the Carolina hemlock...
- Pineapple gall adelgidPineapple gall adelgidThe pineapple or pseudocone gall develops as a chemically induced distortion of needles, mostly on Norway Spruce and Sitka Spruce.The aphid-like insect Adelges lays up to one hundred eggs, one on each needle. Adelges abietis is one of the most common species, synonyms are A...