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.

Modification date: 22 May 2024 | Publication date: 04 September 2012 | By: Evelyne Turpeau, Maurice Hullé, Bernard Chaubet