About Tetraneura nigriabdominalis nigriabdominalis
Tetraneura nigriabdominalis nigriabdominalis, commonly known as the oriental grass root aphid or rice root aphid, is also referred to as Tetraneura akinire. This insect is an aphid belonging to the superfamily Aphidoidea, order Hemiptera. It is a true bug that feeds by sucking sap from plants. This species has an alternating host lifecycle. Primary hosts are elm trees of the genus Ulmus, and secondary hosts are the roots of grasses and cereals. The fundatrix, also called the founding stem mother, lays eggs on a leaf of its primary host. This egg-laying triggers the growth of galls on the leaf, where the fundatrix's offspring develop while feeding on the host's sap. Once they mature, they become winged adult alates that move to the secondary host to complete the rest of the life cycle. This species is believed to have originated in Asia, but it has since spread to southern and south-eastern Europe, as well as the United States.
