poplar leaf-base gall
(Pemphigus populicaulis)
Conservation • Description • Habitat • Biology • Distribution • Taxonomy
Conservation Status |
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| IUCN Red List | not listed |
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| NatureServe | not listed |
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| Minnesota | not listed |
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Description |
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Poplar leaf-base gall is a plant parasitic, gall making aphid. Like similar aphids, it is most often identified by the plant species on which the gall is found, by the location of the gall, and by the gall’s appearance. In Minnesota this species is found on balsam poplar, Lombardy poplar, and plains cottonwood. A gall is formed by the tree in response to an aphid feeding on the petiole. The gall appears at the junction of the leaf stalk (petiole) and the leaf blade. It is light green, smooth, spherical, and ¼″ to ½″ in diameter. There is a slit-like opening in the gall parallel to the direction of the petiole. The adult female is ⅛″ long from the head to the wing tips. The antennae are thick and stout. The wings are transparent and colorless. |
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Size |
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⅛″ |
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Similar Species |
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| Poplar petiolegall aphid (Pemphigus populitransversus) forms a gall near the middle of a leaf petiole. The opening in the gall is a slanted, sideways (transverse) slit. | ||
Habitat |
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Biology |
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Season |
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Behavior |
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Life Cycle |
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Breeding takes place within the gall. Adults escape the gall through the slit-like opening. |
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Nymph Hosts |
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balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera) |
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Adult Food |
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Distribution |
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Sources |
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| 8/26/2017 | ||||
Occurrence |
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Common and widespread; wherever its host species occur. |
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Taxonomy |
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Order |
Hemiptera (true bugs, hoppers, aphids, and allies) | ||
Suborder |
Sternorrhyncha (plant-parasitic hemipterans) | ||
Infraorder |
Aphidomorpha (aphids and allies) | ||
Superfamily |
Aphidoidea | ||
Family |
Aphididae (aphids) | ||
Subfamily |
Eriosomatinae | ||
Tribe |
Pemphigini | ||
Genus |
Pemphigus | ||
Synonyms |
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Common Names |
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poplar leaf-base gall |
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Glossary
Petiole
On plants: The stalk of a leaf blade or a compound leaf that attaches it to the stem. On ants and wasps: The constricted first one or two segments of the rear part of the body.
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