Stats

Lifespan

Annual

Size

Tiny

Diet

Herbivore

Activity

Diurnal

Social

Solitary

Biome

Temperate forest

Range

North America

Movement

Flight

Breeding

Egg-laying

Defense

Armor

Status

Uncommon

About

This tiny insect lives inside small, nipple-shaped galls on hackberry tree leaves. It secretes chemicals that force the plant to grow a protective wooden shell around its larva.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   egg

   A small egg is laid on or near the larval food source and hatches within days or weeks.
2. 2.
   juvenile

   An immature insect feeds and molts, growing through successive instars.
3. 3.
   subadult

   A near-adult insect has wing buds or near-mature form, one molt away from full size.
4. 4.
   adult

   Fully grown, with full wings and adult coloration.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Hemiptera

Family

Aphalaridae

Genus

Pachypsylla

Species

Pachypsylla celtidismamma