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TREE APHIDS

 

Eucallipterus tiliae L. & Tinocallis platani  (Kaltenbach)

 -- Callaphididae & Aphididae

 

(Contacts)

 

GO TO ALL:  Bio-Control Cases

 

Dahlsten & Hall (1999) reported that both the linden aphid, Eucallipterus tiliae L. and the elm aphid, Tinocallis platani (Kaltenbach) were examined for biological control in Berkeley, California.  Tinocallis platani is monophagous on elm trees, and is naturally distributed from Europe and the Soviet Union.  It was introduced into western North America (Richards 1967).  In Berkeley this aphid reached high densities and its secreted honeydew created a nuisance by dripping onto automobiles and people.  Insecticides were used exclusively in 1945-1971, but with decreasing effectiveness (Olkowski et al. 1982b).  Two aphidiid parasitoids, Trioxys hortorum Stary and T. tenuicaudus Stary were introduced from Czechoslovakia in 1972.  Trioxys taenicaudus became established and spread slowly.  Complaints of dripping honeydew decreased gradually also and now the project is considered a classical biological control success (Olkowski et al. 1974, 1982b).

 

Eucallipterus tiliae is common in Europe on linden trees and was first found in the United States >100 years ago in the area of Washington, D. C.  It has occurred in the western United States for >50 years having apparently spread from the east (Essig 1926).  The aphidiid Trioxys curvicaudus Mackauer was established in 1970 in Berkeley, marking the first use of a parasitoid against an ornamental shade tree aphid pest (Olkowski et al. 1982a, Dahlsten & Hall 1999).  This parasitoid was also later established on T. platani in central California (Dahlsten & Hall 1999).

 

The status of the biological control effort against linden aphid is not considered clear by Dahlsten & Hall (1999), although Olkowski et al. (1982a) consider it a success.  Populations of the linden aphid were low in 1971 with 40% parasitization.  In 1972 the aphid populations were higher with parasitism ranging between 20-50% (Olkowski et al. 1982a).  Populations were not sampled again until 1978 when parasitization did not exceed 30%.  Approximately 50% of the aphid mummies yielded hyperparasitoids (Olkowski et al. 1982a).  Because the linden aphid populations were low in 1978 and because there was less honeydew and fewer complaints, the project had been considered successful (Olkowski et al. 1982a).  Since 1981 this aphid and its parasitoids have been monitored continuously.  Data analyses for 1981-1982 showed no clear association between the numbers of aphids and its parasitoids (Dahlsten et al. 1985).  Therefore, although complaints about honeydew have declined Dahlsten & Hall (1999) hesitate to consider this a successful biological control effort.  Additionally T. curvicaudus was found to have several hosts and was not specific to the linden aphid as previously believed.  Also, Trioxys pallidus, parasitoid of the walnut aphid, parasitizes linden aphid (Dahlsten et al. 1985). 

 

 

REFERENCES:               [Additional references may be found at:   MELVYL Library ]

 

Dahlsten, D. L. & R. W. Hall.  1999.  Biological control of insects in outdoor urban environments.  In:  Bellows, T. S. & T. W. Fisher (eds.), Handbook of Biological Control:  Principles and Applications.  Academic Press, San Diego, New York.  1046 p.

 

Dahlsten, D. L., A. E. Hajek, D. J. Clair, S. H. Dreistadt, D. L. Rowney & V. R. Lewis.  1985.  Pest management in the urban forest.  Calif. Agric. 39(1-2):  21-22.

 

Essig, E. O.  1926.  The Insects of Western North America.  MacMillan, New York.  1035 p.

 

Olkowsky, W., D. Pinnock, D. Toney, W. Mosher, G., W. Neasbitt, R. van den Bosch & H. Olkowsky.  1974.  A model integrated control program for street trees.  Calif. Agric. 28(1):  3-4.

 

Olkowski, W., H. Olkowski & R. van den Bosch.  1982a.  Linden aphid parasite establishment.  Environ. Ent. 11:  1023-25.

 

Olkowski, W., H. Olkowski, R. van den Bosch, R. Hom, R. Zuparko & W. Klitz.  1982b.  The parasitoid Trioxys tenuicaudus Stary (Hymenoptera: Aphidiidae) established on the elm aphid Tinocallis platani Kaltenbach (Homoptera: Aphididae) in Berkeley, California.  Pan-Pacific Ent. 58:  59-63.

 

Richards, W. R.  1967.  A review of the Tinocallis of the world (Homoptera: Aphididae).  Canad. Ent. 99:  536-53.