A new species of aphid of the genus Nipponaphis (Hemiptera: Aphididae: Hormaphidinae) from China, inducing galls on the trunk of a witch-hazel (Hamamelidaceae)

By

Wang, Wei
Cui, Yongzhong
Chen, Xiaoming
Bashir, Nawaz Haider
Chen, Hang

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2021-5-11

Original Publication

Subterranean Biology

Volume

38

Pages

1--9

Subjects

ecological niche , gall-inducing aphid , interaction , Phylogeny , tannin content

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zoologia.38.e60598

 

Abstract

Plants and insects have co-existed for millions of years. Although research has been conducted on various insect species that induce galls on various plant tissues, information is particularly scarce when it comes to insects that form galls on the tough trunk of their host plants. This contribution describes the gall-inducing aphid Nipponaphis hubeiensis sp. nov. from the Zhushan County, Shiyan City, Hubei Province of China. This aphid induces enclosed galls with woody external layer on the trunk of Sycopsis sinensis (Saxifragales: Hamamelidaceae), an uncommon ecological niche in the aphid-plant interaction system. Morphological features for the identification of new species are provided. In addition, a partial sequence of the nuclear gene EF1α was amplified and sequenced to construct a cluster graph. Based on the clustering graph combined with morphology traits, the gall-forming aphid was classified into Nipponaphis. The unique ecological habits of this new aphid will bring innovative perspectives to the study of the evolution and diversity in aphid-host interaction.