Sodalis

Guides

• Cinara strobi

  White Pine Aphid

  Cinara strobi, the white pine aphid, is a large aphid species specialized on white pine (Pinus strobus). It is notable for exceptionally high autumn populations that produce copious honeydew, attracting stinging wasps and creating nuisance conditions. The species exhibits parthenogenetic reproduction during the growing season, with live birth of nymphs accelerating population growth. Uniquely among Cinara aphids, C. strobi harbors three bacterial endosymbionts—Buchnera aphidicola, Sodalis sp., and Serratia symbiotica—representing an intermediate stage of symbiont replacement where the latter has become metabolically incompetent yet persists.

  aphidwhite-pinehoneydewparthenogenesisendosymbiontSerratia-symbioticaBuchneraSodalisautumn-pestSternorrhyncha

• Drepanosiphinae

  Drepanosiphinae is a Holarctic subfamily of aphids within Aphididae, comprising approximately 13 genera (8 extinct) and over 60 described species. The six extant genera—Drepanaphis, Drepanosiphoniella, Drepanosiphum, Megalosiphonaphis, Shenahweum, and Yamatocallis—exhibit strict host associations primarily with maple trees (Acer spp.). The subfamily is characterized by enlarged fore or mid femora and rastral spines on hind tibiae. Molecular phylogenetic studies confirm its monophyly and reveal complex endosymbiotic relationships with both Buchnera aphidicola and Sodalis-like bacteria in most species.

  aphidmaple-feedingHolarcticendosymbiosisphloem-feederBuchneraSodalis