GALLING ADELGIDS: GALL FORMATION, DEVELOPMENTAL MORPHOLOGY, CHARACTERIZATION, AND THE GENETIC SUSCEPTIBILITY OF SPRUCE

ii Adelgids (Hemiptera: Adelgidae) are a small group of insects with complex life cycles and can threaten seed production in British Columbia (BC). Adelgids induce galls on the reproductive and vegetative shoots of spruce trees, reducing the number of future cone sites. Additionally, feeding on the cones and needles of alternate conifer hosts can reduce seed extraction efficiency, and cause discoloration and twisting of needles. Seed orchards are intensively managed for frequent and abundant seed production; hence losses incurred by adelgid pests are of high importance. Considering the complexity of insect-galler systems, there are many unanswered questions regarding the basic biology and habits of adelgids. My research elucidates the influence of two adelgid life stages, the fundatrix and her offspring the gallicolae, through the use of manipulative laboratory experiments and botanical histological processes. It is evident that fundatrices induce the gall formation process and the gallicolae activity completes the gall formation process. Considering th