''Cinara'', the conifer aphids or giant conifer aphids, is a genus of

aphid Aphids are small sap-sucking insects in the Taxonomic rank, family Aphididae. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. The group includes the fluffy white Eriosomatinae, woolly ...

s in the family

Aphididae The Aphididae are a very large insect family in the aphid superfamily ( Aphidoidea), of the order Hemiptera. These insects suck the sap from plant leaves. Several thousand species are placed in this family, many of which are considered plant/cr ...

. They are widespread in the Northern Hemisphere. These aphids specialize on conifers in the

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

and cypress families.Jousselin, E., et al. (2013)
Is ecological speciation a major trend in aphids? Insights from a molecular phylogeny of the conifer-feeding genus ''Cinara''.
''Frontiers in Zoology'' 10 56. Some species are pests that attack cultivated

Christmas tree A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen pinophyta, conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, associated with the celebration of Christmas. It may also consist of an artificial tree of similar appearance. The custom was deve ...

s. The parasitoid wasp species in the genus '' Pauesia'' are specific to the genus. '' Cinara cedri'' has been shown to host three symbionts: ''

Buchnera aphidicola ''Buchnera aphidicola'', a member of the Pseudomonadota and the only species in the genus ''Buchnera'', is the primary endosymbiont of aphids, and has been studied in the pea aphid, '' Acyrthosiphon pisum''. ''Buchnera'' is believed to have had ...

'', a secondary symbiont, and bacteria in the genus ''

Wolbachia ''Wolbachia'' is a genus of gram-negative bacteria infecting many species of arthropods and filarial nematodes. The symbiotic relationship ranges from parasitism to obligate mutualism. It is one of the most common parasitic microbes of arthrop ...

''. There are about 243 species in this genus. Species include: * '' Cinara abietis'' * '' Cinara acutirostris'' * '' Cinara cedri'' * '' Cinara confinis'' * ''

Cinara cupressi ''Cinara cupressi'', the cypress aphid, is a brownish soft-bodied aphid. It sucks sap from twigs of conifers, and can cause damage to the tree, ranging from discoloring of the affected twig to the death of the tree. This insect appears to have or ...

'' * '' Cinara fornacula'' * '' Cinara laricis'' * '' Cinara piceae'' * '' Cinara piceicola'' * '' Cinara pini'' * '' Cinara pilicornis'' * '' Cinara strobi''

References

External links

Bugguide.net. Genus ''Cinara'' - Giant Conifer Aphids
* * * Lachninae Sternorrhyncha genera {{Aphididae-stub