BIOLOGY and CONTROL of the HACKBERRY NIPPLE and BLISTER GALL MAKERS •

RESEARCH CIRCULAR 111 AUGUST 1962 BIOLOGY and CONTROL of the HACKBERRY NIPPLE and BLISTER GALL MAKERS • JAMES E. APPLEBY and R. B. NEISWANDER • 0 HI 0 AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION WOOSTER, OHIO CONTENTS * * * Introduction--------------------------------------------------------------- 3 The Host Plant----------------------------------------------------------- 3 Life HistorY-------------------------------------------------------------- 4 Structure of Gall---------------------------------- - -----------------------10 Parasites and Predators ___________ ------------------------------------------11 Leaf Drop---------------------------------------------------------------16 Control lnvestigations------------------------------------------------------16 Sprays Applied to the Foliage ___ ------ ---------------------------------------17 SummarY----------------------------------------------------------------23 LITERATURE CITED Appleby, J. E. 1960. Life Cycle and Contol of Pachypsylla celtidis mamma with Reference also to Pachypsylla celtidisvesicula. Master of Science Thesis. Ohio State University. pages 1-49. Cook, M. T. 1904. Galls and Insects Producing Them. Ph. D. Dis sertation. The Ohio State University. Felt, E. P. and S. W. Bromley 1930. Shade Tree Insects in 1929. Jour. Econ. Ent. 23: 137- 142. Mally, C. W. 1894. Hackberry Psyllidae Found at Ames, Iowa. Proc. Iowa Acad. Sci. l (5): 131 - 138. Moser, J. C. 1954. A Preliminary Study of the Gall Makers of Hack berry with a Description of a New Parasite, Torymus vesiculus N. SP. (Hymenoptera:Torymidae) Master of Science Thesis. Ohio State Univer sity. Pages 1-60. Moser, J. C. 1958. A Study of the Interrelationships of the Gall Makers of Celtis occidentalis L. and Their Natural Enemies. Ph. D. Dis sertation. Cornell University. Pages 1- 173. Schuder, Donald L. 1959. Shade Tree Gall Insects and their Control. Trees Magazine 19 (3):10-11, 18-19, 26. Severin, H. C. 1951. Hackberry Leaf Galls, Cause-Control. S. Dak. Farm and Home Res. 2 (2):40-41. Smith, R. C. and R. S. Taylor 1953. The Biology and Control of the Hackberry Psyllids in Kansas. Jour. Kans. Ent. Soc. 26: l 03-115. Thompson, H. E. 1958. Preliminary Report on Control of Hackberry Nipple Gall. Dept. of Ent., Kan. State College. Pages 1-2. Thompson, H. E. 1960. Insect Pests of Shade Trees and Ornamentals in the Midwest. Arborist's News 25 (7):49-50. Thompson, H. E. 1960. Insect Pests of Trees in Midwest. Trees Magazine 20(3):6. Tuthill, L. D. 1943. Psyllids of America North of Mexico. Iowa State Col. Jour. Sci. 17 (4):533-542. Wisconsin State Dept. of Agri. Bui. 1960. Pests and Diseases of Tfees and Shrubs. No. 351 p. 38. 8-62-3M BIOLOGY and CONTROL of the HACKBERRY NIPPLE and BLISTER GALL MAKERS JAMES E. APPLEBY and R. B. NEISWANDER INTRODUCTION Members of the family Psyllidae ( Chermidae), order Homopter d, commonly called the jumping plant lice, are small insects usually mea suring not over 1/5 of an inch in length. The family contains 17 genera according to Tuthill ( 1943). All seven species of the genus Pachypsylla feed on the hackberry tree, Celtis occidentalis L. The immature stages stimulate the plant tissues to produce abnormal growths referred to as galls. The following study is primarily concerned with the life cycle of the hackberry nipple gall maker Pachypsylla celtidismamma (Riley). This species causes the characteristic mammiform galls on the under side of the hackberry leaf. Another species, Pachypsylla celtidisvesicula Riley causes the formation of blister-like leaf galls. The latter species is much more common than the former. The life cycle is very similar to that of the nipple gall maker. In Figure 1 the galls of both species are shown. Several contributions, particularly those by Smith and Taylor ( 1953) and Moser ( 1958), present information on the life histories of the hackberry psyllids. Smith and Taylor also report on control experi ments. More recently, work has been conducted by H. E. Thompson ( 1960). Studies in this report were conducted during 1960-61, pri marily in Wayne, Ottawa, and Franklin Counties, Ohio. THE HOST PLANT The hackberry is a medium-sized tree occurring east of the Rocky Mountains from Idaho to Massachusetts south to northern Florida, Arkansas, and Kansas. In Ohio the tree is commonly found throughout the state except in the northeastern counties. The nipple and blister gall makers being specific on hackberry are thus limited to their host's range. Hackberry is planted primarily as a shade tree although at times it is used for lumber, The tree would probably be more popular with homeowners if it were not for the early leaf drop in the late summer, the 3 numerous galls appearing on the leaves, and the abnormal formation of stunted compact twigs occurring irregularly on the branches. Hackberry grows under a rather wide range of soil conditions, and for this reason H. E. Thompson ( 1960) speculates that the tree may gain some popularity as a replacement for the American elm where it has been killed by Dutch elm disease and phloem necrosis. The tree will proba bly be better known in the future, especially since some materials have proven effective in killing the gall makers. LIFE HISTORY The haekberry nipple gall maker, Pachypsylla celtidismamma, has one generation a year. The adults overwinter in crevices in the bark of hackberry trees, and in cracks and crevices of nearby buildings. During the first warm days of April the adults become active and fly to haekberry trees. Mating and egg laying begin during late April and continue until the end of May (Smith and Taylor 1953 ) . Soon after mating, eggs are deposited on the new leaves of hackberry. About a week later the eggs hatch. The nymphs are motile for only a short time, then begin feeding. The leaf tissues soon cover the nymphs. An interval of 10 to 12 days occurs between hatching and gall formation. The nymphs live Fig. 1.-Galls on the Lower Surface of Hackberry Leaves. Blister Galls on the Left and Nipple Galls on the Right. 4 inside the galls throughout the summer, emerging about the middle of September. THE EGG The egg of P. celtidismamma is ovoid and shining white. The basal end is broadly rounded whereas the apex is pointed (Figure 3, f). Moser ( 1958) records the average length at .38 millimeters while that of P. celtidisvesicula is .30 mm. Eggs that are about to hatch have a slight yellow cast and two red eye spots on the apical third. THE NYMPHS There are five nymphal stages of P. celtidismamma. The nymph is enclosed within the gall in from 10 to 12 days after hatching. The second, third, and fourth instars are all spent within the interior of the gall. At intervals throughout the spring and summer of 1960, galls were opened and the nymphal stages were measured and determined to in star. These data are summarized in Table 1. The approximate dura tion of each stadium is given in Figure 2. TABLE 1.-The date and length in millimeters of nymphs and adults of P. celtidismamma during 1960. Date 6/7 6/29 7/15 8/12 9/2 10/15 10/15 lnstar 2 3 4 5 Adult Adult Male Female Number 15 15 15 20 20 10 10 Mean .35 .71 .95 2.08 3.09 3.70 4.03 FIRST INSTAR (Figure 3, a)-When nymphs of both P. celtidis mamma and P. celtidisvesicula were examined with the aid of a com pound microscope, it became apparent that one could identify the first instar of each species irrespective of the gall from which it came. The first instar of P. celtidismamma is uniformly light yellow except for the red compound eyes, and light gray markings on the dorsal abdominal segments. The nymphs of P. celtidisvesicula are very similar, but dif fer in having gray markings present on the dorsum of the thorax. The general body shape of P. celtidismamma is somewhat more oval than P. celtidisvesicula, but this is not true in all cases. The apical enlarge ment of the abdomen as well as the two, long, terminal, antenna! setae are common characteristics of the first instar of both species. 5 SECOND INSTAR (Figure 3, b )-The absence of the gray mark ings, the strongly concave tip of the abdomen, and the increase in size are all features that can be used in the identification of this instar. The red compound eyes are persistent as in all subsequent instars. THIRD INSTAR (Figure 3, c)-The anterior margin of the head is more or less truncate. Wing buds are now apparent. The median of the abdomen is widened longitudinally. Short setae appear on these segments. \Vhile the abdominal segments of the first and second instars were yellow, the posterior segments in the third instar are a light tan. The abdomen is tapered caudally into two forked spines which arc to become even more noticeable in the next instar. FOURTH !NSTAR (Figure 3, d)-The colorless wing pads have now expanded. Setae are more prominent on the abdomen. The posterior abdominal segments arc a darker tan and arc also more heavily sclerotized than in the previous instar; apical spines are more highly developed than in the third instar. FIFTH !NSTAR (Figure 3, e)-The reddish brown apical spines reach their fullest development in this instar. That portion of the abdo men upon which they appear is dark brown. In contrast the remainder 6 ADULT 5 c:i: 4 -0 ~ 3 (/) 2 ···-·- JUNE I JULY I AUG. I SEPT. Fig. 2.-Duration of Stadia of P. celtidismamma. (Dotted line in dicates possible extension based on information from Moser (1958). 6 a b c d . E E en 0 I') 01~ f e STAGES OF P. C. MAMMA Fig. 3.-Camera Lucido Drawings of P celtidismamma with Mea surements Indicating Average Length of Various Stages: a, First lnstar; b, Second lnstar; c, Third lnstar; d, Fourth lnstar; e, Fifth lnstar, f, Egg. 7 of the abdomen appears a light green.

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