M. abietinus

Mindarus abietinus (Cholodkovsky, 1896)

Balsam twig aphid
Mindarus abietinus : adulte aptère
Mindarus abietinus : adulte ailé
Mindarus abietinus : colonie

Morphological characters

1.7-2.0 mm.
Apterous: green to yellowish, covered with wax, antennae very short.
Alate: antennae short, wing medial vein once-branched and pterostigmata extremely elongate, cornicles reduced to pores and cauda short.

Life cycles

Monoecious holocyclic.

Host plants

Mainly Abies alba, silver fir, A. nordmanniana, Nordmann fir.

Particular characteristics

Mindarus abietinus colonizes tender young shoots of firs. It is spotted by the presence of a mass of wax secreted by the colonies. It causes deformation of the needles.

Three generations per year are produced. The eggs hatch in winter. In the summer small colonies are established. An apterous sexual form is produced in June and females lay their eggs. These hatch the following January.

 

 

Modification date: 22 May 2024 | Publication date: 12 July 2017 | By: Evelyne Turpeau, Maurice Hullé, Bernard Chaubet