''Apiomorpha'' is a genus of

scale insect Scale insects are small insects of the Order (biology), order Hemiptera, suborder Sternorrhyncha. Of dramatically variable appearance and extreme sexual dimorphism, they comprise the infraorder Coccomorpha which is considered a more convenient g ...

that induces

galls Galls (from the Latin , 'oak-apple') or ''cecidia'' (from the Greek , anything gushing out) are a kind of swelling growth on the external tissues of plants. Plant galls are abnormal outgrowths of plant tissues, similar to benign tumors or wart ...

on species of ''

Eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often Mallee (habit), mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalyp ...

''. Galls are initiated by first-

instar An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'' 'form, likeness') is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, which occurs between each moult (''ecdysis'') until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to ...

nymphs A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...

(crawlers) on new plant growth and, when mature, the galls exhibit marked

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where sexes of the same species exhibit different Morphology (biology), morphological characteristics, including characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecy, di ...

. Those induced by females are among the largest and most spectacular of

arthropod Arthropods ( ) are invertebrates in the phylum Arthropoda. They possess an arthropod exoskeleton, exoskeleton with a cuticle made of chitin, often Mineralization (biology), mineralised with calcium carbonate, a body with differentiated (Metam ...

-induced galls whereas those of males are small and most are tubular.Gullan, P.J. 1984. A revision of the gall-forming coccoid genus ''Apiomorpha'' Rübsaamen (Homoptera: Eriococcidae: Apiomorphinae). Aust. J. Zool. Suppl. Ser. 97:1-203. doi:10.1071/AJZS097 ''Apiomorpha'' is known only from Australia and New Guinea although its host, ''Eucalyptus'', has a wider distribution into Indonesia as well. ''Apiomorpha'' is currently classified in the Eriococcidae, but this family is not

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

Morphology

Like other scale insects, ''Apiomorpha'' is highly

sexually dimorphic Sexual dimorphism is the condition where sexes of the same species exhibit different Morphology (biology), morphological characteristics, including characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecy, di ...

. Adult females are wingless, have very small (or no) eyes, and their legs are short and stubby. A female remains within the gall she initiated when a crawler, mating through the small apical opening of her gall. She reproduces inside the gall and her tiny offspring (≤ 0.4 mm) escape through the same small opening. Adult females of ''Apiomorpha'' can range in length from 2 mm to 45 mm, depending on species, and can live up to five years as adults. In contrast, adult males of ''Apiomorpha'' are small (about 1 mm in length) and winged. Like males of other eriococcids, they do not have a mouth and, instead, have an extra pair of eyes on the underside of their head (i.e., they have four eyes, two on top and two underneath). Males leave their galls as adults and search for females. They are weak fliers and typically walk on their host plant looking for females before taking to the air. After leaving their gall, adult males only live about one day.

Species

Apiomorpha withersi ''Apiomorpha'' is a genus of scale insect that induces galls on species of ''Eucalyptus''. Galls are initiated by first-instar Nymph (biology), nymphs (crawlers) on new plant growth and, when mature, the galls exhibit marked sexual dimorphism. Th ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q10415647 Eriococcidae Gall-inducing insects Hemiptera of Australia Sternorrhyncha genera