What is the life habit of horned aphid (gallnut aphid)? What are the functions? Where are they mainly distributed?

APHIS gossypii, also known as gall aphid and gallnut aphid, is an insect of the genus APHIS, which is mainly parasitic on the compound leaf wings or young leaves of Lacqueraceae in summer. The leaves stung by horngall aphids produce irregular nodular galls called "gallnut", which are in the shape of water chestnut. What are the living habits of the horned aphid? What are the functions?

The gallnut formed by the Chinese nutgall parasite on the salt skin wood is a rhombohedral, oval or irregular capsule, with several irregular angular branches or tumor-like processes, about 8 cm in length and 5 cm in diameter. The surface is grayish yellow or yellowish brown with grayish-white soft fluff. The thickness of the cyst wall is about 1-2 mm. The quality is hard and brittle, and there are many gray and powdery aphid bodies and their wax-like secretions in the capsule. Air-specific, astringent taste.

The living habits of APHIS gossypii

The hosts of APHIS gossypii in winter are sharp-leaf lantern moss and original lantern moss growing in shady and humid environment. Winged individuals migrate to moss every autumn to produce young aphids and secrete white wax to surround the body. In the following spring (March-April), the overwintering aphids emerged into winged individuals, flew away from the moss and moved to live on the salt wood. Female aphids and male aphids were produced on the leaf buds of alpinia mandshurica. Perched in cracks in tree trunks. After molting several times, the sexual aphids develop into adults and mate, and the males die quickly after mating, and the female aphids lay eggs and hatch to produce unisexual female aphids, called dry mothers, which invade the young tissue of the tree and suck tree sap. At the same time, saliva is secreted to stimulate plant tissue at the feeding site, so that plant cells continue to proliferate, gradually wrapping the horned aphid inside to form galls (gallnut embryonic form). The gall continued to feed in the gall and the offspring of parthenogenetic reproduction continued to increase from August to October, and the last generation of wingless female aphid in the gall produced winged individuals of cattle (autumn migratory aphid). After the galls are exposed at the top of the horn, the aphids escape, fly away from the salt wood, and migrate to the host bryophytes to feed on the young or roots. And propagate through the winter, and at the same time secrete H-color wax on the surface of the insect body to surround the insect body, which is spherical in shape to defend against cold, so that it can survive the winter safely. In the following spring (March-April), it is feathered into a winged individual, flies away from the moss, and then migrates to the salt skin wood for reproduction.

APHIS gossypii is widely distributed, and it is also distributed in Zhou, Yunnan, Liaoning, Jilin, Henan, Guangxi and Guangdong. Mainly produced in Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan, Shaanxi and other places.

The role of APHIS gossypii

APHIS gossypii has the functions of astringent hemostasis, collecting lungs and relieving cough, astringent intestines and diarrhea, sweating, detoxification and so on. It mainly treats lung deficiency cough, chronic diarrhea and prolapse of anus, hyperhidrosis, lower blood, hemoptysis, spermatorrhea, enuresis, ulcers, heavy metal salt and alkalosis, etc.; external use for the treatment of burns, prolapse of anus, hemorrhoids, cervical erosion, lymph node tuberculosis, stomatitis, gingivitis and so on. APHIS gossypii is also an important raw material and reagent in dyestuff, tanning, chemical, petroleum, smelting and other industries.