Bug FAQPineapple-gall Adelgid
Adelges abietis · Order: Hemiptera · Family: Adelgidae
Also called: Eastern spruce gall adelgid, Pineapple Gall Woolly Aphid
Source: Wikipedia
Pineapple-gall adelgids are soft-bodied, pear-shaped green insects about 1.5 to 3 cm long with long antennae. They create yellow-green galls that turn pink then reddish-brown on Norway and Sitka spruce, interfering with twig formation and often killing new growth.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults measure between 1.5 and 3.0 cm in length.
Source: Wikipedia
Is it a pest in the house?
The galls disrupt normal twig formation, causing curling, stunting and eventual death of new growth.
Source: Wikipedia
How to get rid of it
Removing and destroying newly formed galls helps reduce adelgid populations.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
The species is native to Europe and is also widely found in the northeastern United States.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
It feeds on conifers, especially Norway and Sitka spruce, forming pineapple-shaped galls. In spring the newly hatched nymphs feed at the bases of growing needles.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Only females are known for this species. Nymphs hatch from overwintered eggs, feed at needle bases, and cause swellings that merge into a pseudocone containing about twelve nymphs; they overwinter under wax threads at bud bases.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
In late summer (July to September) fully developed nymphs leave the galls, crawl onto needles, molt and develop wings. The following July winged adelgids appear, fly to spruces and breed again.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
It is endemic to Europe.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 24 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Massachusetts, New York, Vermont, Minnesota, Maine, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Ohio.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: introduced in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What damage does this adelgid cause to spruce trees?
Its galls interfere with twig formation, causing curling, stunted growth and can kill new shoots.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Adelgidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pineapple_gall_adelgid
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.