Cinara curvipes

Bow-legged fir aphid

Description

The aphid, bow-legged fir aphid Cinara curvipes (Patch), belongs to the aphids of the subfamily Lachninae. It is a species that is native to North America, in its western part, from Mexico to the north through California, Oregon to the state of Washington and Canada. Here he lives on domestic species of fir, but also on some other woody plants. In Europe, therefore, it is an introduced species. According to available information, it was first detected in the United Kingdom in Europe in 1999. The wingless, vivacious female bow-legged fir aphid Cinara curvipes are relatively large aphids (up to 5-6 mm) of a round body, shiny, dark brown to black, with two light lines on their backs. They can have up to six generations in a year. The vast majority of individuals in the colonies are wingless, but winged females are common. They hibernate eggs. Aphids suck in colonies on the bark, usually on the underside of branches or on the trunk. Their number reaches two peaks during the year; the first during May and June, the second during September and October. Colonies produce large amounts of honeydew, which is mostly harvested by wasps and ants, but harvesting by bees has also been observed. In Europe, it lives on exotic firs such as Abies concolor and giant fir Abies grandis, rarely on other woods, e.g. Cedar atlantica. In its original area, it lives almost exclusively on firs (A. balsamea, A. lasiocarpa, A. magnifica, A. religiosa, A. concolor). In Europe, he has recently appeared on Abies alba. The species is very similar to our domestic species, the bow-legged fir aphid Cinara confinis, known in the past as Todolachnus abieticola. This is common on our domestic Abies alba.