Giant Willow Aphid

The Giant Willow Aphid is an unusually large aphid, up to 6 millimetres long.

Species introduction

At a glance
Latin name: 
Tuberolachnus salignus
Family: 
Aphids
Family Latin name: 
APHIDIDAE
Category: 
Insects other

Species description

Species description

The Giant Willow Aphid is an unusually large aphid, up to 6 millimetres long. They are dark brown with black spots. Adults have thorn-like dorsal 'tubercles' that protrude from their backs. Some adults of this species are winged, others are wingless. They are found in colonies on willow and sallow trees, including the Goat Willow, of which there are several specimens in the Cemetery.

Species photographs

Larger photograph(s) (click to magnify)

Details

Species family information

Aphids form a very large insect family of sap-suckers. They are generally considered to be a pest although in their abundance they provide nourishment for countless larger insects and birds. They are soft-bodied, pear-shaped insects. Aphids are usually green, but can be red, brown and even white.

Category information

Insects evolved in the Ordovician from a crustacean ancestral lineage as terrestrial invertebrates with six legs (the Hexapoda). This was the time when terrestrial plants first appeared. In the Devonian some insects developed wings and flight, the first animals to do so. An early flying group was the Odonata from the Carboniferous, the damselflies and dragonflies, which have densely-veined wings and long, ten-segmented bodies. They are day-flying carnivores, with an aquatic larval stage, so are commonly seen flying near water. The carnivorous larvae are called nymphs. Odonata species are short-lived, damselflies surviving for 2-4 weeks, dragonflies for up to 2 months.

Some insect groups in the Cretaceous co-evolved with the flowering plants, and they have had a close association ever since. These groups are the Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, and ants), the Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), the Diptera (flies), and the Coleoptera (beetles). The diversity of beetles is astonishing. Of all the known animal species on the planet, one in five is a beetle!