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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies (Hemiptera) » Plant-parasitic Hemipterans (Sternorrhyncha) » Aphidoidea » Aphids (Aphididae) » Woolly Aphids and Gall-making Aphids (Eriosomatinae) » Pemphigini » Prociphilus » Woolly Alder Aphid (Prociphilus tessellatus)

Species Prociphilus tessellatus - Woolly Alder Aphid

Classification · Other Common Names · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Identification · Range · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · Internet References

Woolly Alder Aphid - Prociphilus tessellatus

has anyone seen this? - Prociphilus tessellatus

Mealy Bug with Ants - Prociphilus tessellatus

maybe woolly alder aphids, found on alder - Prociphilus tessellatus

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 Eriosomatinae (Woolly Aphids and Gall-making Aphids)

Tribe Pemphigini

Genus Prociphilus

Species tessellatus (Woolly Alder Aphid)

Other Common Names

Maple blight aphid

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Eriosoma tessellata Fitch, 1851

Paraprociphilus tessellatus (Paraprociphilus is now considered a subgenus of Prociphilus)

Identification

Gray to black in color. It gets its name from the fluffy, white wax found on its abdomen. Colonies are obvious because of their white, fuzzy appearance.

Range

East of the Mississippi River

Food

Silver maple and alder

Life Cycle

It requires alder and silver maple to complete its life cycle. Occasionally, it is found on red maple.

The aphids on the trees are wingless. They feed on sap from the time of bud-break until late June. Then winged adults, some with abdomens covered in white fluffy wax, are produced in the colonies. These winged migrants readily fly when disturbed. Iowa State University

Remarks

They are usually seen on leaves, twigs or bark. Although infested leaves shrivel and drop early, the pests cause little permanent damage. As a result of the honeydew, sidewalks and cars become sticky.

They are an important resource for natural biological controls such as lacewings, lady beetles, hover flies, and parasitic wasps. Tolerance of aphid presence is one way to encourage beneficial insects. Iowa State University

The predaceous caterpillars of the butterfly Feniseca tarquinius feed on these aphids.

Internet References

Forest pests. University of Georgia.

Clemson University

Iowa State University

North Carolina State University

Contributed by Beatriz Moisset on 17 November, 2007 - 3:52pm
Additional contributions by ceiseman
Last updated 25 September, 2015 - 4:14am

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