About Spanioneura fonscolombii Foerster, 1848
Spanioneura fonscolombii Foerster, 1848 is a distinctive green psyllid that specializes on box (Buxus sempervirens). It has elongated, pointed forewings with yellowish cells that have dark spots at the apices of four cells, and the wing veins are yellow and/or green. Its antennae are orange with a dark tip. There is scientific dispute over whether this insect causes galls on the leaves of its host plant. According to Plant Parasites of Europe, adults and larvae of this species live freely on box leaves and do not cause any galling. In the literature from the British Plant Gall Society, this insect is recorded to form small, pale cabbage-like clusters at the tips of box shoots. Affected leaves are thicker than healthy leaves, strongly concave, and shelter numerous pale-green nymphs coated in white wax. After maturing, nymphs leave the host plant in late summer to lay eggs, which overwinter on box shoots and leaves. In an alternative life history pattern, adult insects overwinter on the host plant. Spanioneura fonscolombii is naturally distributed in Belgium, France, Great Britain, Italy, Luxembourg, Romania, Spain, and Switzerland. It has also been accidentally introduced to the United States of America.
