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For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada

Species Tuberolachnus salignus - Giant Willow Aphid

Aphid (?) at Darwin Falls - Tuberolachnus salignus Giant Willow Aphid  - Tuberolachnus salignus Spotted horn bug - Tuberolachnus salignus Aphids... - Tuberolachnus salignus Giant Willow Aphids - Tuberolachnus salignus Giant Willow Aphid - Tuberolachnus salignus Giant Willow Aphid (Tuberolachnus salignus) - Tuberolachnus salignus Giant Willow Aphid with other aphids - Tuberolachnus salignus
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Hemiptera (True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies)
Suborder Sternorrhyncha (Plant-parasitic Hemipterans)
Superfamily Aphidoidea
Family Aphididae (Aphids)
Subfamily Lachninae (Giant Aphids)
Tribe Lachnini
Genus Tuberolachnus
Species salignus (Giant Willow Aphid)
Explanation of Names
Tuberolachnus salignus (Gmelin, 1790)
Size
5.0-5.8 mm
Range
almost cosmopolitan wherever willows are grown - Map (1), mostly New England to midwest and western N. Amer.
Food
It feeds on willows (Salix, Salicaceae), and also very occasionally recorded from poplar (Populus)
Life Cycle
According to Dr. Tilly Collins, the Giant Willow Aphid is "genetically incompatible with sexual reproduction and reproduces parthenogenetically year-round."
one known specific parasite, Pauesia salignae (Braconidae: Aphidiinae)
Remarks
Non native, introduced from Europe around 1872. Considered a minor pest.
Print References
Collins, C.M., M.D.E. Fellowes, R.B. Sage, S.R. Leath. 2001. Host selection and performance of the giant willow aphid, Tuberolachnus salignus Gmelin – implications for pest management. Agricultural and Forest Entomology 3(3): 183–189. (Text)
Collins, C.M., R.G. Rosado, S.R. Leather. (2001). The impact of the aphids Tuberolachnus salignus and Pterocomma salicis on willow trees. Annals of Applied Biology. 138 (2): 133–140. (Text)
Internet References