Tree-killing aphid dramatically reduces bark contents in carbohydrates and nitrogen compounds

Starch content in autumn and spring was strongly positively correlated with crown health and radial increment. These results suggest that poplars infested by P. passerinii may die from carbon reserves deficiency, which would be an unprecedented situation for tree-aphid and tree-gall inducing insects interactions. Further experiments monitoring seasonal dynamics of NSC and NSNC reserves in different organs of infested trees should be conducted to validate this hypothesis. The results also suggest that the starch content in the bark of infested trees, in autumn, might be used as a predictor of tree decay by managers.