C. pilicornis

Cinara pilicornis (Hartig, 1841)

Spruce shoot aphid

Cinara pilicornis : adulte ailé

Morphological characters

3.0-4.7 mm.
Apterous: orangey brown covered with hairs, head and thorax darker, cornicles conical.
Alate: light brown, covered with hairs and wax, cornicles cone-shaped, rostrum long and pointed, antennae short with processus terminalis very short.

Life cycles

Monoecious holocyclic

Host plants

Picea spp.

Particular characteristics

Cinara pilicornis colonizes needles on young shoots. It is rarely visited by ants.
The honeydew produced by the aphids is used by bees which then provide pine honey with a strongly characteristic flavour.