Elatobium (Neomyzaphis) abietinum (Aphididae)

green spruce aphid

Adults:

Elatobium abietinum, the green spruce aphid, infesting foliage.
 Mostly wingless, small, green pear-shaped. Note cornicles on abdomen. Mouthparts are piercing/sucking type, directed straight downwards. Legs long and slender. Nymphs are pear-shaped like adults, wingless. Males are not found in western North America.


Damage:

Foliage dying due to damage caused by Elatobium abietinum feeding.
 Nymphs feed on needle mesophyll cells causing foliage to turn yellow, die and fall off in a few weeks. In B.C., this pest is found throughout the range of Sitka spruce; outbreaks often occur after mild winters. Infestations are usually concentrated on the lower shaded crown parts, rarely affecting the leaders and upper crown unless occurring in epidemic proportions.


Principal Hosts:

Primarily on Picea spp, only rarely on pine and Douglas-fir.

Economic Importance:

This aphid is a serious pest of ornamental spruces and sporadic outbreaks may occur in forest situations.

References and Links:

FC: 96.

See Diseases and Insects and JP17 .

Additional Images:

Spruce foliage with hundreds of nymphs.
 Heavy feeding causes foliage to turn brown.
All old foliage can be fed on.