Insect Gallery

Pecan Phylloxera Gall
Image courtesy of Louis Tedders, USDA-ARS, Bugwood.org licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 License.

Pecan Phylloxera Inside of Gall
Image courtesy of Will Chaney, Noble Research Institute

Leaf phylloxera
Image courtesy of Charlie Graham

Agmbr

Insect Details

Name: Phylloxera

Latin Name: Phylloxera notabilis, P. russelae, P. devastatrix

Description: The adults and nymphs are tiny, soft-bodied, cream colored insects resembling aphids. They are rarely seen.

Insects Life Cycle: Phylloxera overwinter in the egg stage in protected places on branches. The young insects appear in spring about the time the buds unfold. The insect inserts its (beak) into new leaf or terminal growth and a gall forms that soon envelopes the insect. The insect matures within the gall and lays a large number of eggs. Young hatch from these eggs and develop into winged forms. Usually, in late May or early June the gall splits open and releases the insects. Infestations may start on one tree and spread out to others. There are several generations per year.

Insects Symptons: Galls appear on leaflets or growing terminals. Leaflets with 4 or more galls may drop. Severe infestations may produce partial defoliation of affected trees and may interfere with photosynthesis. Terminals infested by P. devastatrix have galls where the nut clusters would normally develop. This is the most damaging phylloxera.