Cinara pinea

Are you certain of the species?

Aphids are very difficult to identify from photos, even by experts--and there are other species that feed on pine.

… Ken Wolgemuth, 23 July, 2020 - 3:08pm

No, I'm not certain and..

I'm happy to defer to your expertise regarding where these images should be placed. Please feel free to relocate them as you see fit.

My decision to place them as C. pinea is the result of comparing my images with images on Internet reference sites and also on the written text concerning C. pinea in the book, "Dynamics of Forest Insect Populations" as referenced below.

Here's a list of some of the sites I used to reach my conclusion:

iNaturalist
Reference Photo

Encyclopedia of Life
Uses same image as iNaturalist

Denmark's National Arts Portal
Mathias Holm image

InfluentialPoints.com
Cinara pinea - Large pine aphid photo

The following book presents a lot of information about Cinara spp., including C. Pinea:
Dynamics of Forest Insect Populations: Patterns, Causes, Implications
Chapter 6, The Large Aphid on Scots Pine in Britain

Thank your for your interest and help.

… Mardon Erbland, 23 July, 2020 - 4:49pm

I have no expertise to speak of :)

I just know what it says about aphid ID on the family info page, and that Natalie Hernandez (who works with the critters) often says how tricky they are to ID, even for experts working with slide-mounted specimens.

It looks like you've done your homework. If you're comfortable with the ID, please feel free to leave the pics here.

… Ken Wolgemuth, 23 July, 2020 - 5:05pm

Thanks again...

You may be too modest about your level of expertise. Thirty-plus years as a nature writer and over 132 thousand comments on BugGuide, make you an expert in my books! I've always admired your level of BugGuide activity. Thank you for that.

Based on your comments, I think I'll leave the photos in C. pina. If Natalie, or some other aphid expert, wants to move them, I'm fine with that.

… Mardon Erbland, 24 July, 2020 - 8:27am