''Cinara pilicornis'', the spruce shoot aphid or brown spruce shoot aphid, is an aphid species in the genus ''

Cinara ''Cinara'', the conifer aphids or giant conifer aphids, is a genus of aphids in the family Aphididae. They are widespread in the Northern Hemisphere. These aphids specialize on conifers in the pine and cypress families.Jousselin, E., et al. ( ...

'' found on Norway spruce (''

Picea abies ''Picea abies'', the Norway spruce or European spruce, is a species of spruce native to Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. It has branchlets that typically hang downwards, and the largest cones of any spruce, ...

'') and Sitka spruce (''

Picea sitchensis ''Picea sitchensis'', the Sitka spruce, is a large, coniferous, evergreen tree growing to almost tall, with a trunk diameter at breast height that can exceed 5 m (16 ft). It is by far the largest species of spruce and the fifth-larg ...

'').An Entomophthora Species on Cinara pilicornis (Hartig) (Hemiptera: Aphididae). T. L. Edwards, The Irish Naturalists' Journal, Jan. 1981, Vol. 20, No. 5, pages 204-206
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It is a quite large aphid species with a plump, dull brown body. It seems to have little effect on the tree. It is a European species but it has also been reported in spruce forests in New Zealand, together with the spruce aphid ('' Elatobium abietinum''). ''C. pilicornis'', which is attended by the honeydew-collecting ants ''

Formica polyctena ''Formica polyctena'' is a species of European red wood ant in the genus ''Formica'' and large family Formicidae. The species was first described by Arnold Förster in 1850. The latin species name ''polyctena'' is from Greek and literally mean ...

'', is seldom attacked by the parasitoid wasp '' Pauesia pini''. It is also a host for ''

Entomophthora ''Entomophthora'' is a fungal genus in the family Entomophthoraceae. Species in this genus are parasitic on flies and other two-winged insects. The genus was circumscribed by German physician Johann Baptist Georg Wolfgang Fresenius (1808-1866) ...

'' fungi. ''C. pilicornis'' produces the trisaccharide

melezitose Melezitose, also spelled melicitose, is a nonreducing trisaccharide sugar that is produced by many plant sap eating insects, including aphids such as ''Cinara pilicornis'', by an enzyme reaction. This is beneficial to the insects, as it reduces th ...

Citronellol Citronellol, or dihydrogeraniol, is a natural acyclic monoterpenoid. Both enantiomers occur in nature. (+)-Citronellol, which is found in citronella oils, including ''Cymbopogon nardus'' (50%), is the more common isomer. (−)-Citronellol is w ...

, cis–trans-

nepetalactone Nepetalactone is a name for multiple iridoid analog stereoisomers. Nepetalactones are produced by ''Nepeta cataria'' (catnip) and many other plants belonging to the genus ''Nepeta'', in which they protect these plants from herbivorous insects by fu ...

and cis–trans-

nepetalactol Nepetalactol is an iridoid. It is produced from 8-oxogeranial by the enzyme iridoid synthase. Nepetalactol is a substrate for the enzyme iridoid oxidase (IO) which produces 7-deoxyloganetic acid. It has been identified in ''Actinidia polygama ...

are stress-induced compounds released by the host plant. These compounds originated from the aphids and they are assumed to be pheromone components for this aphid species.Semiochemicals related to the aphid Cinara pilicornis and its host, Picea abies: A method to assign nepetalactone diastereomers. Marie Pettersson, C. Rikard Unelius, Irena Valterová and Anna-Karin Borg-Karlson, Journal of Chromatography A, 8 February 2008, Volume 1180, Issues 1–2, Pages 165–170,

References

External links

* * Insects described in 1841 Lachninae {{Aphididae-stub