Cinara pilicornis
Cinara pilicornis, the spruce shoot aphid or brown spruce shoot aphid, is an aphid species in the genus Cinara found on Norway spruce and Sitka spruce. It is a quite large aphid species with a plump, dull brown body. It seems to have little effect on the tree. It is a European species but it has also been reported in spruce forests in New Zealand, together with the spruce aphid.
Cinara pilicornis, which is attended by the honeydew-collecting ants Formica polyctena, is seldom attacked by the parasitoid wasp Pauesia pini. It is also a host for Entomophthora fungi.
Cinara pilicornis produces the trisaccharide melezitose. Citronellol, cis–trans-nepetalactone and cis–trans-nepetalactol are stress-induced compounds released by the host plant. These compounds originated from the aphids and they are assumed to be pheromone components for this aphid species.