Euceraphis betulae

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Euceraphis betulae
Euceraphis betulae (Silver birch aphid) - Flickr - S. Rae (2).jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Suborder: Sternorrhyncha
Family: Aphididae
Genus: Euceraphis
Species:
E. betulae
Binomial name
Euceraphis betulae
(Koch, 1855)

Euceraphis betulae, the birch aphid or silver birch aphid, is a species of aphid in the order Hemiptera. It is a tiny green insect with a soft body and wings. It is found living on the European silver birch tree ( Betula pendula ) where it feeds and multiplies on the buds and leaves by sucking sap.

Contents

Description

The silver birch aphid is a light green colour with a bluish tinge. The blueness is due to the dusting of blue wax particles which are particularly obvious on the antennae and legs. All adults have membranous wings and during the spring and summer, all individuals are female. [1] The mouthparts are specialised to form a slender stylet for piercing and sucking sap from their host tree.[ citation needed ]

Biology

Silver birch leaves, catkins, fruits and seed Illustration Betula pendula0.jpg
Silver birch leaves, catkins, fruits and seed

Eggs that have overwintered on birch twigs hatch out in the spring. The nymphs feed on the leaf buds as they burst and on tender young leaves. They grow rapidly into winged females that, as soon as they are adults, start to reproduce by parthenogenesis, producing live young. This new generation develops into further winged females and the numbers of aphids soon builds up. They take to the wing rapidly if disturbed. Some fly to nearby silver birches and others to other parts of the same tree but by about July they stop reproducing. In September the birch leaves begin to turn yellow and the aphids resume reproduction and further nymphs are born viviparously. As the days shorten, there is a change in the reproductive pattern. The next generation of adults produced consists of greyish, winged males and brown, winged egg-laying females. After mating, the females lay batches of orange eggs on birch twigs. The adults die off and the eggs soon turn to a glossy black colour. They are able to withstand harsh winter weather and hatch in the spring when the tree is about to resume growth. [1]

Ecology

Like many other species of aphid, Euceraphis betulae is very specific as to the identity of its host. The silver birch is an ornamental tree native to Europe which has been introduced into North America, Australia, New Zealand and other parts of the world and the aphid has travelled with it. [2] The aphid has not adapted to colonise other species of birch native to these countries. In Europe, the closely related downy birch (Betula pubescens) has its own species of aphid, Euceraphis punctipennis . At one time this was thought to be identical to Euceraphis betulae but there have been found to be chromosomal differences between the two, and they are now considered to be separate species. [2]

Ladybirds and their larvae feed on aphids. In America the eyed ladybird ( Anatis ocellata ) specialises on the aphids colonising various trees. Their diets include the silver birch aphid and pine aphids. The cream-spot ladybird ( Calvia quatuordecimguttata ) also feeds on Euceraphis betulae. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hemiptera</span> Order of insects often called true bugs

Hemiptera is an order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising over 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, assassin bugs, bed bugs, and shield bugs. They range in size from 1 mm (0.04 in) to around 15 cm (6 in), and share a common arrangement of piercing-sucking mouthparts. The name "true bugs" is often limited to the suborder Heteroptera.

<i>Betula pendula</i> Species of birch

Betula pendula, commonly known as silver birch, warty birch, European white birch, or East Asian white birch, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to Europe and parts of Asia, though in southern Europe, it is only found at higher altitudes. Its range extends into Siberia, China, and southwest Asia in the mountains of northern Turkey, the Caucasus, and northern Iran. It has been introduced into North America, where it is known as the European white birch or weeping birch and is considered invasive in some states in the United States and parts of Canada. The tree can also be found in more temperate regions of Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eriosomatinae</span> Subfamily of aphids

Woolly aphids are sap-sucking insects that produce a filamentous waxy white covering which resembles cotton or wool. The adults are winged and move to new locations where they lay egg masses. The nymphs often form large cottony masses on twigs, for protection from predators.

The gall adelgid is an adelgid species that produces galls in spruce trees. They infect the new buds of native spruce trees in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in the spring. They also attack blue spruce to a lesser degree. The insects complete two generations within the year. They require two different trees for its life cycle, the second being the Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir. They may also attack Sitka, Engelmann, or white spruce. The many different species of adelgids produce different galls on different spruce species.

<i>Psylla pyri</i> Species of true bug

Psylla pyri, commonly known as the pear psylla or pear psyllid, is an insect in the family Psyllidae. Originating in Europe and Asia, it has spread to North America. It is a pest of pear trees, sucking the sap, damaging the foliage, flowers and fruit and diminishing the crop.

<i>Calvia quatuordecimguttata</i> Species of beetle

Calvia quatuordecimguttata, the cream-spot ladybird, is a species of ladybird in the family Coccinellidae. Its distribution is holarctic, it being found in Europe and through the East Palearctic to Japan. It is introduced to North America. This ladybird is generally 4 to 5 millimetres in length and varies in appearance depending on the geographical location. It usually lives in hedgerows and deciduous trees.

Cinara cupressi, the cypress aphid, is a brownish soft-bodied aphid. It sucks sap from twigs of conifers, and can cause damage to the tree, ranging from discoloring of the affected twig to the death of the tree. This insect appears to have originated in the Middle East and has been increasing its range and is considered to be an invasive species in Africa and Europe. It has been included in the List of the world's 100 worst invasive species.

<i>Aphis gossypii</i> Species of insect

Aphis gossypii is a tiny insect, an aphid ("greenfly") in the superfamily Aphidoidea in the order Hemiptera. It is a true bug and sucks sap from plants. It is a widely distributed pest of a variety of agricultural crops in the families Cucurbitaceae, Rutaceae and Malvaceae. Common names include cotton aphid, melon aphid and melon and cotton aphid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black bean aphid</span> Species of true bug

The black bean aphid is a small black insect in the genus Aphis, with a broad, soft body, a member of the order Hemiptera. Other common names include blackfly, bean aphid, and beet leaf aphid. In the warmer months of the year, it is found in large numbers on the undersides of leaves and on the growing tips of host plants, including various agricultural crops and many wild and ornamental plants. Both winged and wingless forms exist, and at this time of year, they are all females. They suck sap from stems and leaves and cause distortion of the shoots, stunted plants, reduced yield, and spoiled crops. This aphid also acts as a vector for viruses that cause plant disease, and the honeydew it secretes may encourage the growth of sooty mould. It breeds profusely by live birth, but its numbers are kept in check, especially in the later part of the summer, by various predatory and parasitic insects. Ants feed on the honeydew it produces, and take active steps to remove predators. It is a widely distributed pest of agricultural crops and can be controlled by chemical or biological means. In the autumn, winged forms move to different host plants, where both males and females are produced. These mate and the females lay eggs which overwinter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pineapple gall adelgid</span> Species of true bug

The pineapple gall adelgid is a species of conifer-feeding insect that forms pineapple-shaped plant galls on its host species, commonly Norway and Sitka spruce. The adelgids are pear-shaped, soft-bodied green insects with long antennae, closely related to the aphid. Adelges lays up to one hundred eggs at a time, one on each needle. Adelges abietis is one of the most common species; synonyms are A. gallarum-abietis, Chermes abietis and Sacciphantes abietis.

<i>Lygocoris pabulinus</i> Species of true bug

Lygocoris pabulinus also known as the common green capsid, is a Holarctic species of bug from the family Miridae which can be found throughout Europe. It is an adventive species in North America.Lygocoris pabulinus feeds on a variety of plants.

<i>Anatis ocellata</i> Species of beetle

Anatis ocellata, commonly known as the eyed ladybug, is a species of ladybug in the family Coccinellidae. It has black spots on a red background, with each spot surrounded by a yellowish halo. In one color variation, a specimen found in Scotland was reported having the spots fused to form longitudinal lines. Sometimes can also be found variation where black spots are absent.

<i>Euceraphis punctipennis</i> Species of true bug

Euceraphis punctipennis, the downy birch aphid or European birch aphid, is a species of aphid in the order Hemiptera. These aphids are tiny green insects with soft bodies and membranous wings. They are found living on downy birch trees where they feed and multiply on the buds and leaves by sucking sap.

Brachycaudus helichrysi is a species of aphid first described by the German naturalist Johann Heinrich Kaltenbach in 1843. Its common names include leaf curl plum aphid, and leaf-curling plum aphid, and it is a serious pest of plum and damson trees.

Cinara confinis, the black stem aphid, is a species of aphid in the genus Cinara, found feeding on the twigs of various species of fir (Abies) and on several other species of coniferous trees. This aphid has a Holarctic distribution and is known from Europe, Asia, North America and Argentina.

<i>Aphis pomi</i> Species of true bug

Aphis pomi, commonly known as the apple aphid, or the green apple aphid, is a true bug in the family Aphididae. It is found on young growth of apple trees and on other members of the rose family where it feeds by sucking sap. Reproduction is mainly by parthenogenesis, in which unmated females give birth to live young.

<i>Eriosoma lanigerum</i> Species of true bug

Eriosoma lanigerum, the woolly apple aphid, woolly aphid or American blight, is an aphid in the superfamily Aphidoidea in the order Hemiptera. It is a true bug and sucks sap from plants.

<i>Blepharidopterus angulatus</i> Species of true bug

Blepharidopterus angulatus, the black-kneed capsid, is a species of plant bug in the family Miridae. It is found in North Africa, Europe East across the Palearctic to Central Asia and in North America.

Phytobia betulae is a species of fly in the family Agromyzidae. It is native to Northern and Eastern Europe, being common in Scandinavia. Its larvae tunnel through the branches and trunk of birch trees, often leaving a dark stain in the timber but not adversely affecting the tree's growth.

Elatobium abietinum, commonly known as the spruce aphid or green spruce aphid, is a species of aphid in the subfamily Aphidinae that feeds on spruce, and occasionally fir. It is native to Northern, Central and Eastern Europe and has spread to Western Europe, North America and elsewhere.

References

  1. 1 2 Blackman, Roger (2010). "Euceraphis betulae (silver birch aphid)". Natural History Museum. Retrieved 2013-01-16.
  2. 1 2 Blackman, Roger; Holopainen, Jarmo. "A year in the life of a birch aphid" . Retrieved 2013-01-16.
  3. Kalushkov, P; Hodek, I. (2001). "New essential aphid prey for Anatis ocellata and Calvia quatuordecimguttata (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)". Biocontrol Science and Technology. 11 (1): 35–39. doi:10.1080/09583150020029727.