How One Entomologist Takes a ‘One Health’ Approach to Engage Across Disciplines | Entomology Today

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Meet Karen Poh, Ph.D., research entomologist at the USDA-ARS Animal Disease Research Unit, in Pullman, Washington, whose work in public health, animal and medical entomology earned her a spot in the Early Career Professional Recognition Symposium at the 2022 Joint Annual Meeting of ESA, ESC, and ESBC. Learn more about Poh and her work in this next installment of our "Standout Early Career Professionals" series.

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Why a Little Bit of This Tree Pest is a Good Thing in Urban Landscapes | Entomology Today

This post Why a Little Bit of This Tree Pest is a Good Thing in Urban Landscapes appeared first on Entomology Today - Brought to you by the Entomological Society of America.

Tiny, dome-shaped scale insects can damage or kill trees in heavy infestations, but their presence in moderate numbers actually supports a variety of other beneficial insects that protect trees and surrounding vegetation from other pests, a new study shows.

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CDC Internship, Fellowship Program Enlightens Mentors and Mentees Alike | Entomology Today

This post CDC Internship, Fellowship Program Enlightens Mentors and Mentees Alike appeared first on Entomology Today - Brought to you by the Entomological Society of America.

The first cohort of interns, fellows, and mentors in ESA and CDC's Public Health Entomology for All program are learning from each other and looking at public health entomology in a new light.

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Diversity in Career Paths: A Q&A With Five Entomologists | Entomology Today

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What jobs can we do as entomologists? More than you might think. For students looking ahead at potential career paths, learn from this Q&A with five entomologists working in a wide range of positions, from biotechnology to tourism and more.

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Do Aphids Eat Monarch Eggs? #1 Answer

Aphids on your milkweed plants can be a cause of concern, but more so if you have monarch butterflies on them. But do aphids eat monarch eggs or harm them in any way? Well, not directly, but indirectly they do cause harm.

 

Growing milkweed plants in your butterfly garden is a great way to attract beautiful monarch butterflies to your home.

However, these endangered butterflies aren’t the only insects you’ll be attracting. Milkweed also attracts oleander aphids.

They are so brightly colored that you can easily spot a large infestation of these tiny yellow bugs on your milkweed plants. While the aphids won’t destroy or eat monarch butterflies’ eggs, they can harm the larvae indirectly. Let’s understand how.

 

 

What Are Oleander Aphids?

Let’s begin with learning more about this species of aphids. These bright yellow insects easily stand out from the other aphid species due to their color.

In fact, their bright color is an indicator to potential pests that they contain toxins – a defense mechanism common in many bugs.

This bug isn’t native to the US – it originated in the Mediterranean region, just like its primary host – the oleander plant.

It later ended up in North America through these very oleander plants and eventually grew to become common here as well.

Milkweed is pretty much as attractive to them as oleander, which is why they are also called “milkweed aphids.”

If you have milkweed plants in your garden, there’s a high chance that you may have to deal with an aphid infestation at some point.

Do They Harm Monarchs?

Moving on to why you’re here, let’s see how these tiny little milkweed bugs can harm monarchs.

First of all, aphids hog milkweed plants. Aphids infest in large numbers because of their unique asexual reproduction, covering entire areas of the plant with their bright yellow bodies.

Well, you might say that still doesn’t answer how aphids can harm monarchs. The answer is that they do nothing direct – they don’t bite, and they don’t feed on butterfly eggs.

They are completely herbivorous and only feed on plant sap.

However, this sap-sucking is what harms monarchs. These pests drain nutrients from the sole host of the monarchs, i.e., the milkweed plant.

A heavy aphid infestation can completely defoliate the plant, leaving the poor monarch butterfly nowhere to go. Neither do their caterpillars get nutrition from feeding on the plant’s leaves.

The presence of an aphid army also draws natural aphid predators like ladybugs and lacewings near the plant.

While these predators are otherwise beneficial, they also eat up monarch eggs. Hence, while the aphids won’t eat monarch eggs, they can attract predators who will.

 

 

Why Are They So Hard To Get Rid Of?

Dealing with an aphid infestation on your milkweeds is frustrating due to their sheer numbers and because you can’t use the normal methods of aphid control with monarchs in the picture.

Using pesticides or insecticidal soap to kill the aphids might destroy the monarch eggs and larvae.

Beneficial insects like lacewings and syrphid flies kept for controlling aphids can feed on monarch eggs, causing more harm than good.

Even if monarch butterflies haven’t laid eggs yet, most aphid predators don’t touch oleander aphids. These guys extract cardenolide toxins from milkweed, which turns them toxic and protects them from predators.

How To Control Their Population?

While its getting rid of aphids on your milkweed plants is hard, it’s not impossible. You can remove them by hand, drown them in water, apply soap water, vacuum them off, and there are many other things to do. Let’s talk about them.

Manually Remove Them

Although this might sound a bit messy, squishing the aphids with your fingers is the most effective way to eliminate them.

You can then wash away the crushed pests with a stream of water. However, ensure you don’t mistake monarch eggs for aphids or aphid eggs.

While aphid and monarch eggs are both ovoid, monarch eggs are white or off-white. Female aphids, on the other hand, mostly lay yellow, orange, or black eggs.

Drown Them in a Stream of Water

Another way to kill aphids easily is to hose them down with a stream of water. The water would wash them off your plant, and the pests would also die from drowning.

Alternatively, you may take water in a bowl and carefully turn different parts of the plant to submerge them in the water and kill them.

Use rubbing alcohol

Isopropyl alcohol, also known as rubbing alcohol, can kill aphids on contact.

However, you will have to be extra careful when spraying it, as rubbing alcohol can also kill monarch caterpillars and destroy their eggs.

 

 

Soapy water

If you have dealt with pests in your garden or your houseplants, you probably know that soapy water is an excellent insecticide against many pests.

Spray the aphids with a solution of water and dishwashing liquid to kill them.

As with rubbing alcohol, you’ll have to avoid harming the monarch larvae, ladybug larvae, lacewing larvae, or syrphid fly larvae.

Use a Brush or Vacuum

Don’t want to use chemicals? You may use a vacuum cleaner to remove the pests. Just make sure the suction power isn’t too high, as it can cause the leaves to tear apart or get sucked in.

It’s best to use a small handheld vacuum cleaner, a keyboard vacuum cleaner, or a vacuum cleaner with a micro attachment.

You may also brush the pests off your plant using a detailed brush. It will help you remove aphids from areas that might otherwise be hard to reach.

Plant Aphid Repellent Plants

This natural remedy will help you control the populations of aphids while increasing diversity in your garden.

Certain plants, such as marigold and onion, repel aphids naturally. You can introduce some of these repellant plants into your butterfly garden and plant them next to the milkweed plants.

Frequently asked questions

What eats monarch butterfly eggs?

Various predators, like spiders, wasps, ants, ladybugs, etc., feed on monarch butterfly eggs. Most of them target these butterflies at the larval stage too.

You should try to keep these predator insects away from any milkweed plant on which the monarchs have laid eggs.

Will monarchs lay eggs on milkweed with aphids?

Yes, the monarchs will still lay eggs on a milkweed plant infested with aphids. The infestation won’t deter them in any way.

While this is a good thing, you need to get rid of the aphids immediately, as they can indirectly harm the monarchs by damaging the milkweed.

Do aphids eat baby monarch caterpillars?

No, aphids only feed on plant matter, mostly the sap from the leaves. They do not eat baby monarch caterpillars. However, other predators like spiders, ants, and birds who eat monarch caterpillars might get attracted by the presence of aphids and end up feeding on the caterpillars.

Do aphids harm monarch chrysalis?

Aphids don’t harm monarch chrysalis directly. However, they can deprive them of nutrients by draining the sap of the host plant or even killing it.

Hence, although aphids don’t attack monarch butterflies in any life stage, you should still keep your milkweed plants free of those pests.

 

 

Wrapping Up

Aphids are extremely common pests, and there’s a good chance that they might show up in your pollinator garden.

Take the necessary steps to eliminate them and protect your milkweed plants. Remember not to use pesticides or other solutions.

They might result in collateral damage, such as destroying monarch eggs or killing other beneficial insects. Thank you for reading!

 

 

Reader Emails

Over the years, our readers have sent us several emails on this topic. Please go through them below.

Letter 1 – Maple Aphid we presume

 

Subject: Unknown Bug on maple leaves
Location: Springfield, NJ
March 3, 2017 9:18 pm
A large number of these pinhead sized bugs hatched on my bonsai maple buds and leaves on a warm February week.
Signature: Any

Maple Aphid, we believe

This is an Aphid, and based on our research and information contained on Influential Points and BugGuide, we suspect this is a Maple Aphid, Periphyllus testudinaceus, a species native to Europe. 

Thanks Daniel,
This is great information and very interesting.
Robert

Letter 2 – Mexican Aphids

 

hi I am from mexico and I have faund many insects in my garden that I cant identify so if you can help me I will be thankfull.
Daniel Vasquez

Hi Daniel,
Did you attach photos? They did not arrive. Where in Mexico?

well first i¨am fome mexico city the capital y will send you the fotos now.

Hi again Daniel,
This image is of a species of Aphid, from the family Aphididae. They are pests that infest many types of plants. When numerous, they can be very injurious, especially to young tender shoots. They suck the juices from the plants and are also capable of tranmitting viruses to your plants.

Letter 3 – Milkweed Aphid

 

Subject: Yellow Bug
Location: Detroit, MI
October 30, 2013 4:05 pm
Found these on my back porch today and I have no idea what they are. I tend to have a lot of lady bugs in the backyard but this doesn’t look like a lady bug. This was taken in Detroit, MI. Today (October 30th). And there was a bunch of them in various sizes. Some super tiny like the tip of a pen and others about 2-3 times that size…so bigger than the babies but still small.
Signature: Mari

Milkweed Aphid

Hi Mari,
This is an Aphid.  If you have plenty of Lady Beetles, they must have a ready food supply, and they prey upon Aphids.  We believe your Aphid is a Milkweed Aphid.

Letter 4 – Milkweed Aphids

 

Bug on my Gay Butterflies
Location: Central Texas
June 1, 2011 7:22 pm
I went out to water our flowers this evening and noticed these bugs on my Gay Butterflies. As you can see from the attached photo, there are plenty of them. I have not been able to identify them from my searches and would like to identify if they are harmful to our flowers or if they will be okay to leave alone. The bugs have 6 legs, 2 antlers/feelers, and what looks like two feelers or antlers on their back behind their back legs. We have a lot of lowers in the flower bed (26 to be exact) and the gay butterflies are the only thing that seems to attract these critters.
Signature: Derrick

Milkweed Aphids

Hi Derrick,
You definitely have Aphids, and we have never heard of a plant called a Gay Butterfly, but it appears to be a milkweed, which would be strong evidence that your Aphids are Milkweed Aphids, Aphis asclepiadis.  They do match the images posted to BugGuide.  Using pesticides may compromise the butterflies you are hoping will be attracted by the plant.  We would suggest a strong spray of water from the hose to remove the Milkweed Aphids.

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What Plants Repel Aphids? Helpful Tips

Did you know that you can repel aphids simply by adding some plants to your garden? Let’s look at what plants repel aphids below.

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Tiny insects making their nests under your plants is probably the last thing you need to see when you check on your garden.

But what if we tell you there are some plants that can keep your garden safe from a nasty aphid infestation? In this article, let us look at some aphid-repelling plants that are natural enemies to these pests.

 

 

What Plants Keep Aphids Away?

Basil

Basil is a fragrant herb often used for its sweet smell. The strong scent of basil is known to disturb the olfactory sense of aphids.

It deters them from infesting nearby plants. It can be an excellent companion plant for tomatoes, beans, and asparagus.

Garlic

Aphids have an aversion to all kinds of strong scents. Plants like garlic, when planted near vegetable plants (common host plants for aphids), can act as a good deterrent.

Planting a few garlic shrubs or using a spray bottle with garlic oil and soap water to freshen up your plants could be an effective way to keep aphids away for quite some time.

Onion

Onions protect leafy veggies like cabbage, broccoli, kale, or cauliflower from aphids.

As the onion plants grow, the scent becomes stronger and keeps aphids away from the surroundings. These plants also work as insect repellants that can damage different plants.

Peppermint

Mint can attract several beneficial insects that usually feed on aphids. These can be grown as tiny bushes around your main plants to keep them safe.

The only thing to take care of is controlling the growth of mint bushes since they grow very fast and can cover up a garden.

Thyme

Using fragrant herbs can be one of the easiest ways to eliminate or at least keep aphids away from other plants.

Planting thymes or using a thyme oil to spray over plants can help keep aphids away from flowering and vegetable plants.

Rosemary

Rosemary is an effective fragrant herb that can mask the smell of host plants. Various beneficial insects gather around rosemary plants, and many of these feed on aphids as a supplementary food source.

The scent of rosemary itself can keep away aphids from surrounding plants.

 

 

Catnip

Growing catnip around plants is known for attracting pollinating insects that are natural enemies of aphids.

Catnip might be popular with your four-legged friends, but this can also help with the aphid problem at home.

However, keeping a check on the growth of catnip is important around the year.

Parsley

Parsley is a favorite for a lot of wasps that feed on aphids. Many parasitic wasps feed on aphids which will help to prevent any major infestation.

So, planting parsley around your garden could mean protecting your plants by keeping the beneficial insects around.

Nasturtium

Nasturtium is one of the most natural insect repellents. The plant in your garden releases a chemical that affects various insects, including aphids.

Keeping these plants as companions can help to keep different types of unwanted pests away.

Sunflowers

Sunflowers are often regarded as trap plants and can help prevent major aphid infestations in a garden. These plants are large in size and have strong stems.

Most of them can easily take on an aphid infestation without damage. Planting them in close quarters with other plants can help prevent aphids from populating your garden.

Hot Pepper (Capsaicin)

Hot peppers can be an effective aphid repellant as companion plants and a spray. These plants have a chemical known as capsaicin (which gives them their distinct chili flavor).

It also gives out a strong scent that can help keep aphids, other insects, and even certain birds away. Spraying plants with water and hot pepper mixture can also keep the plants safe from an infestation.

Mums

Mums, more popularly known as chrysanthemums, are one of the plants that aphids particularly hate. These plants release a chemical called pyrethrum, which is a natural insecticide.

Mums also release a pheromone which works like an alert chemical for aphids. It mimics a predator for the aphids and keeps them away from plants.

 

 

Lavender

Lavender oil is one of the most effective aphid repellants. The plant has a strong fragrance that usually keeps aphids away.

Planting a few lavender plants around your garden would mean the fragrance can overpower the surroundings and keep aphids away.

Rye

Rye is one of the most important and valuable plants among crops. But these are prone to aphid infestations, particularly on the underside of leaves.

It is not exactly a companion plant, but it can prevent the growth of aphids among other rye plants and prevent an aphid infestation.

Spear Thistles

Spear thistles are a small flowering plant that has proven effective in controlling aphid populations among rye plants.

If you are growing rye crops, you can plant these tiny plants among the plants to prevent aphids from attacking frequently.

Savory

Savory is a type of herb known to prevent black bean aphid infestation. Aphids can be fatal to crops growing in summer and spring.

Planting savory flowers can attract pollinating insects, some of which are aphid predators, protecting them.

Marigolds

Marigolds are popular as insect repellants and can be an excellent choice to prevent aphid attacks. These bright-colored flowers have a special scent that keeps insects away from the surrounding.

Planting marigolds around your other plants can better fight an aphid population, especially if you are planting new and young shrubs. So if you are wondering, “Do Marigolds Repel Aphids?” the answer is yes.

 

 

Other Natural Remedies For Aphids

Most people would not be keen on using too many chemicals to avoid an aphid infestation, but adding new plants to a garden takes space and time for tending and card, which is difficult.

Apart from companion plants, there are essential oils and beneficial insects which you can also use as aphid remedies.

To avoid aphids, you can spray essential oils like neem, garlic, and rosemary oil on plants. The insects will be unable to stand the strong scent, so regular spraying can help keep aphids away for longer.

Beneficial insects like ladybugs, parasitic wasps, Japanese beetles, and lacewing larvae are natural predators of aphids.

Introducing these insects around your plants will allow them to feed on the aphids and control the recent as well as future infestations.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

What To Plant With Roses To Deter Aphids?

Aphids have an aversion to strong smells. Planting certain fragrant herbs with rose bushes can help keep aphids away.

Rue, parsley, scented geraniums, and thyme are some of the best choices as companion plants with roses. The smell of these herbs keeps away most pests, including aphids.

What flowers do aphids hate?

Flowers with a strong odor can deter most species of aphids. Among them, one flower that aphids particularly hate is marigolds.

Marigold scent is considered a pest repellant, so aphids will try to avoid these plants since they cannot tolerate the smell for a long time.

What plants attract aphids the most?

There are aphid species of many kinds, almost one of every type of plant available.

Nightshade plants like tomatoes or fruit-bearing apples, plums, and cherries often attract them. They are also drawn to flowering plants like roses, dahlia, and sunflowers.

Do banana peels keep aphids away?

Yes, banana peels are known to be aphid repellants. If you keep pieces of banana peels around a plant’s soil, the aphids are drawn towards the peel instead of the main plant.

Bury the peels one or two inches deep in the soil to protect your plants from aphids.

 

 

Wrap Up

There are a number of companion plant options that can be explored when you are trying to prevent an aphid infestation, including basil, garlic, onions, chives, parsley, sunflower, mums, lavender, and so on.

The only thing that you need to take care of is whether the solution you are using is safe for your plants and will not affect their growth in some way. Thank you for reading!

 

 

 

Reader Emails

Over the years, our readers have sent us several emails on this topic. Please go through them below.

Letter 1 – Aphids

 

Dear Mr. Marlos,
Do you have any secret tips or tricks for repelling aphids? They have completely colonized my cucumber patch, and look like they’re headed for the corn or beans next. I’ve tried organic "safer soap" and lady bugs, but these nasty bugs are BADASS. hould I cut my losses and rip out the cucumbers for the safety of the rest of the garden?
Infested in Silverlake

Dear Infested,
Try a garden hose directly on the affected areas. The aphids will wash off with the water jet and die without a food source. Diligence is important as winged adults can always return, but the nymphs are goners.

Letter 2 – Aphids

 

More about the aphids:
Many of you read with disgust the following account about the aphids found in a sandwich purchased from Wild Oats on Sunday. On Monday, we called the offending store and spoke to the manager, who apologized for the infestation and promised to look into the matter. Sharon and I returned to the rocky waters and ordered a couple of new sandwiches, which we got sans lettuce. And we were happy to meet Bobby, the deli counter guy who is a self-described "lettuce nazi." I hope he’s also an "aphid nazi."

April 15, 2002

I didn’t write "What’s That Bug?," because when I discovered this critter, "What’s That Bug?" was sitting right next to me.
For those of you who didn’t hear my piercing screams last night (which carried for miles), the picture above shows the extra protein which was included in a turkey sandwich which I’d purchased from Wild Oats in Pasadena last night. The hitchhiker was immediately identified as an aphid. Also included within the two whole wheat slices was a deader version of this critter, which is what prompted a more thorough investigation of the meal in the first place.
Buff Charlie, who eats both lunch and dinner daily at this fine natural grocery store, strode powerfully to the store and got to the bottom of the infestation. He chastised the staff, and forced them to remove all lettuce from the deli section. "It’s a good idea to always look at your food before eating it," a friendly employee advised him.
That’s good advice, especially when munching on produce. Here in the AH backyard, our lettuce is home to all manner of hungry beasts. Rhonda is always out smushing slugs and grasshoppers. But once our garden produce enters the home, we are no longer playing games with the pests. They are removed, completely. None are pardoned.
I can only wonder why Wild Oats doesn’t share this philosophy of cleanliness and death. Is this what "organic" means these days?

Thanks, Daniel, for grossing me out even more! Buggy anal sugar! EWWW! This unsolicitated letter was received this morning:

Dear American Homebody,
Though no official question has been posed, I thought it was my duty to inform you of some aphid facts since your very recent experience with tainted lettuce on a store bought, organic sandwich. No one knows better than Hogue, who writes "Aphids (Family Aphidae) Aphids are notorious pests of cultivated plants. Prolific breeders, they swiftly spread over the tender growing tips of prize roses and other plants, from which they withdraw large quantities of sap. The result is a wilted, curled, and unsightly mass of leaves or a dead plant. The aphid’s harm is increased by its habit of copiously excreting from the anus a sugary solution called ‘honeydew,’ which covers the host plant with a sticky unsightly residue that often becomes blackened with a growth of sooty mold. Aphids also transmit viral diseases to plants. … Aphids are remarkable for their peculiar modes of reproduction and development, which involve polymorphism (the capability of assuming different body forms). They display life cycles so complicated and varied that they are impossible to summarize here. Parthenogenesis (the development of unfertilized eggs), viviparity (the bearing of live young), and winged and wingless generations are common reproductive phenomena."
One can only guess that the designer store in question found it too costly to clean their organic lettuce in Evian, so they neglected to do so at all to keep the harmful tap water chemicals from their chemical free produce.

Letter 3 – Aphids

 

Mini Bug Super Highway on my Garden Hose
Location:  Tulare, California
September 8, 2010 6:02 pm
I came home today to find some kind of mini super highway on my garden hose made up of some kind of strange mini tick/beetle thing. What are they and is my pet safe outside?
Signature:  The bugs are taking over

Aphids

These appear to be Aphids, and they will not harm your pet, however, they will suck the life from your plants should they become too plentiful.

Letter 4 – Aphids

 

On hyacinth bean vine
Location: Houston, TX
May 14, 2011 10:22 am
It’s May, and almost overnight, these bugs have taken over my hyacinth bean vines. Who are these guys and can you convince me that I should love them?
Thanks!
Signature: Poston

Aphids

Dear Poston,
You (more correctly, your hyacinth bean) have Aphids.  Since the female Aphid gives live parthenogenic birth to female clones, Aphids can reproduce in prodigious numbers at an expedited rate.  One Aphid seems to become thousands in a rapid period of time.  We have no fondness for Aphids which infest plants sucking their nutritious juices and potentially spreading pathogenic viruses to the plants.  Since your hyacinth bean is a potential food plant, we do not recommend pesticides, and we personally limit the use of pesticides since they do not discriminate between beneficial and injurious species.  A strong jet of water from the hose should knock off the Aphids and they can then become prey to various spiders and other creatures once they have been knocked off the food plant.  You can also try to encourage insects like Lacewings and Lady Beetles as they both relish Aphids as food.

Letter 5 – Aphids from Canada

 

Subject: Weed brownies g
Location: Ottawa ontario
August 27, 2016 10:57 am
I am not sure what these are but they are all over the weeds in my back yard. Is it something dangerous?
Signature: Sarah Knox

Aphids

Dear Sarah,
These are Aphids, but we are not certain of the species.  According to BugGuide:  “Aphids suck juices from plants and may be quite damaging. Some are restricted to a single plant species or group of related plants. Others may alternate between two entirely unrelated host plants as a necessary part of their life cycle” and “Aphids may be identified by two tubelike projections on the posterior, called cornicles or siphunculi. These appear to function as a means of chemical defense, emitting pheromones to alert other aphids about a predator nearby. They also offer mechanical protection, as the fluid emitted can gum up the mouthparts of the predators. Species may sometimes be identified by the host plant, but several aphid spp. may infest the same host.”

The post What Plants Repel Aphids? Helpful Tips appeared first on What's That Bug?.

What Do Aphids Eat? Best Answer

An aphid infestation is nothing to joke around; it can destroy a garden very quickly. If you want to understand how aphids attack your plants, it is important to know the answer to: what do aphids eat?

 

If you take care of plants in your daily lives, you do not need any introduction to an aphid infestation.

Aphids often feed on soft plants that they can easily puncture and consume the plant sap, the main source of nutrition for them.

To deal with aphids, you need to know how these insects do their damage, what their food chain looks like, and how their life cycle works. In this blog, we will introduce all these things!

 

 

What Plants Do Aphids Eat?

Apart from 1-2% of the aphid species, most choose only one host plant to eat, and they are loyal to that plant. Due to this reason, they are called monophagous pests.

Some common plants that aphids can infest are crops like corn and cabbage. Melons, underground vegetables, and ornamental plants are also good targets for aphids.

About 1-2% of species of aphids, such as the green peach aphids, can derive nutrition from multiple types of plants.

In most cases, aphids become natural enemies of plants with soft stems from where they can extract the sap. This includes flowering plants, fruit trees, and vines.

Aphids may attack different plant areas, like stems, leaves, and roots. Root aphids live in the soil around the plant instead of living on the plant itself.

How Do Aphids Eat?

Aphids find host plants using their sense of smell and touch, using their antennas. Once they have found a good target, they inject saliva into the stems, leaves, or roots to make it easy to feed.

The insects use needle-like mouthparts known as stylets into the softer parts of the plant to extract sap from the host plants.

First, they attack the xylem of the plant and then the phloem tissue, where they find the sap.

 

 

 

What Nutrients Do Aphids Get From Plant Sap?

Plant sap is one of the main food sources for aphids. Plant sap is a rich source of sugar, nitrogen, and other nutrients.

Aphids are mostly interested in the nitrogen available in the plant sap. The sap also contains water.

The sugar is something that comes along with it, and they just carry it around in the form of honeydew and excrete it out later on.

Most aphid populations are found on plants that are known to have a high content of nitrogen. They are also likely to look out for plants that have a high moisture content.

How Some Bacteria Help Aphids Process The Sap

Plant sap gives aphids nitrogen, sugar, and moisture. But one thing that is not directly available in sap is amino acids.

Aphids have a symbiotic relationship with a bacteria called Buchnera Aphidicola that helps them break down plant sap into multiple amino acids inside the insects’ bodies.

Aphids don’t just feed on plant sap – they end up inadvertently weakening the plant they feed on.

Extracting the sap makes the plant susceptible to disease. It can also cause deformities in new growth.

Moreover, the sticky honeydew they secrete can create mold and attract other insects to the infected plant.

How Ants and Aphids Benefit Each Other

This heading might seem out of place in an article about what aphids eat. But hold on, we assure you, this is relevant!

Ants “milk” aphids for the honeydew that they carry around. Ants behave as bottom feeders to aphids, using them as a secondary source of nutrition.

Interestingly, even though ants are predators of most other bugs, they don’t attack aphids as long as they are extracting honeydew.

In fact, ants become protectors of these little creatures, herding them and keeping them safe from other predators. In this way, the two have a symbiotic relationship with each other.

 

 

How Aphids Harm Plants in Many Ways

Aphid infestations are terrible for plants. It is not just that they take out the plant sap – they cause a lot of damage in many ways.

They are one of the worst pest infestations that can occur to your plants, and knowing what they do can help you prepare for an attack.

We have already talked about plant sap as one of the main diets of aphids. But what does this mean for your plant?

Reduction in Nutrients

Plant sap consists of sugar and additional nutrients required for a plant’s growth. When aphids take away these nutrients, you will notice your plant turning from green to yellow and then brown, showing signs of nutrient deficiency. The plant loses its nutrients and can ultimately die an early death.

Transmission of Disease

Aphids carry plant viruses. When an aphid pierces into a plant to extract nutrients, it can transmit viruses that affect the plant’s health.

If the aphids start multiplying, the aphid eggs also become carriers of the same disease, affecting more plants. The infected plants are more likely to die from the virus than from the aphid infestation.

Toxic Saliva

Just like an insect’s sting is harmful to a human being, an aphid’s sting leaves the plant vulnerable.

Some aphid species have toxins in their saliva, and when they pierce a plant, the toxin gets transmitted. The main sign of toxic saliva from aphids is the yellowing of leaves in a plant.

Development of Sooty Mold

Patches of sooty mold around leaves and stems are another marker of aphid infestation. The mold forms because of the honeydew that these bugs secrete all over the plant.

As unpleasant as it is to look at, this mold is a fungus that can be a health hazard for crops. Moreover, it attracts other pests to the crop.

 

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I kill aphids?

Yes, if you find aphids infesting your plants, it is best to get rid of them quickly. These pests can reproduce at lightning speed and in no time destroy the whole garden.

Spraying your garden with insecticidal soap, releasing beneficial insects such as lacewings and beetles, and regular pruning of infested leaves are the best ways of taking care of aphids.

What do aphids turn into?

Aphids are adult pests; they are not larvae. Most species of aphids overwinter. Female aphids leave their eggs on the leaves of their host plants.

When their eggs hatch, they are called nymphs. The nymphs do not have a pupal stage and directly grow into adult aphids.

Aphids shed their exoskeletons four or five times, like most other insects (called molting).

Do banana peels keep aphids away?

Yes, banana peels are a good pest repellent that can work on aphids as well. You can cut up banana peels and bury them about two inches deep in the soil of plants that are prone to infestations. Most aphids will redirect themselves to the peel, which will protect your plants.

Can aphids bite you?

No, aphids are not capable of biting humans. They have sharp mouthpieces which they use on plants, but those cannot cause any harm to animals or humans.

Few species, like the pea aphid and gall-forming aphids, can bite humans and cause minor skin problems.

Final Words

Aphids are not like other common garden insects that you can leave alone. You must control these pests at the first sign to avoid as much damage as possible.

The best idea to tackle aphids is to spray soapy water using a spray bottle on the plants or else release aphid predators like ladybugs, lady beetles, parasitic wasps and green lacewings in your garden. Thank you for reading!

 

 

Reader Emails

Over the years, our readers have sent us several emails on this topic. Please go through them below.

Letter 1 – Aphid on a Calla Lily

 

Subject: Tick-like bug
Location: San Francisco, CA
March 3, 2016 6:46 pm
Hey The Bugman,
Wondering if you can help me id this bug. Sorry, it’s not the best quality pic. One pic is up close, the other is so that you can get an idea of the scale. I found the bug in my back yard on a calla lily. You’ll also see that there’s a smaller bug near it. I’m most curious about the larger bug.
Any ideas?
Thanks!
Signature: StormMiguel

Aphid on a Calla Lily

Dear StormMiguel,
This is an Aphid and we do not believe its diet, which consists of sucking fluids from plants, is limited to the calla lily.  The other, smaller insect, appears to be a Psocid.

Aphid and possible Psocid

Thank you so much! I never would have guessed it was an aphid – as big as it was. I was worried it might be a tick.
I will make a donation to your site. Sorry that I can only afford $10 at this time.
Your help is greatly appreciated!

Letter 2 – Podocarpus Aphids

 

unidentified blue bug
Location: Southern California
March 27, 2011 6:56 pm
I was curious if you could help me in identifying this bug, if it is one. I’m gonna make a guess as to it being an aphid of some sort or related to them, but I am no entomologist. They are all over the leaves of my hedge. I would really be grateful for the help.
Signature: Curiously Intruiged

Podocarpus Aphids

Hi Curiously Intruiged (Intrigued?),
You are correct.  These are Aphids.  We have similar Aphids on the collard greens in the vegetable patch of our Mt. Washington, Los Angeles garden, though we have not tried to correctly identify the species.

Update:
Buglady just provided a comment that these are Podocarpus Aphids, Neophyllaphis podocarpi, and BugGuide has a few images of the species.

Thank you so much. (And yes i meant intrigued, damn dyslexia haha.)

Letter 3 – Black Aphids

 

Subject: Tiny black insects on flower bud
Location: Stockton, CA
March 26, 2014 1:01 pm
It started raining recently, and I just noticed these small black bugs on a flower bud sprouting from the succulent plant on my balcony. I included a close-up and a shot from farther back for size perspective. They don’t seem to move much, and they appear to be less than 1 mm in length. They’re kinda cool looking. What are they??
Signature: Bug-Curious

Black Aphids

Dear Bug-Curious,
You have Aphids and they feed by sucking the nutritious fluids from plants, so though they look cool, they are injurious to your plant.  There is a similar photo on Succulents and More.

Letter 4 – Oleander Aphid

 

Subject: These guys fell out of my hair
Location: Caledon, Ontario, Canada
December 21, 2014 9:54 am
Hello there, I have spent all morning scouring the internet to no avail.
What do you think these guys are, they fell out of my hair easily this morning. I have been renovating the basement, and sticking my head up into the cobwebs in the ceiling, but we also have a six-month old boy, a dog, cat and two horses. The closest I cam was a spider beetle, but those posterior black stubs are throwing me off. Just want to make sure that they are not ticks or bed bugs.
The body/thorax is around 2 mm long, and both images are the same scale.
Signature: CP

Aphid

Dear CP,
This is an Aphid, a common pest on many cultivated and wild plants.  Do you have a live Christmas tree in the house?  Living trees brought indoors often carry unwelcome insect visitors, and Aphids coming indoors on Christmas trees are seasonal holiday sightings for our site.

Hi Daniel, thank you so much for the quick response! About 30 mins after I sent you the message, I realized that I had moved a house plant into another room…an OLEANDER…so guess what I looked up next! Big sigh of relief! The plant was covered in them!
Great site, you are one of a kind and thank you so much for the help!

Thanks for that update CP.  We did not think this looked like a Giant Conifer Aphid.  Oleander Aphids are generally yellow in color.

It wasn’t until I looked up the milkweed/oleander aphid that I realized it was a juvenile. Amazing little creatures; what would be your theory on how they ended up in my house, in the middle of winter, a thousand kilometers north of the natural range of oleander plants?
I suppose that phenomenon is similar to when the red Asiatic lily beetles appear in mid-summer to munch on – you guessed it – my Asiatic lilies.
The life of a human is so busy and hectic these days, those little natural details just get swept away in the madness…almost impossible to spot with the untrained eye.
Good to know there are still people out there who care about the heaviest portion of the world’s total biomass.
Colin

Hello again Colin,
The Oleander Aphid or Milkweed Aphid, Aphis nerii, feeds on plants other than oleander and milkweed that contain milky sap.  Our own potted Hoya plants are prone to infestations, especially on the new growth.  People who live in areas with freezing winter climates often grow semitropical plants like your own oleander, and they are frequently taken outdoors during the warm summer months when they might become host to a single female Aphid that will reproduce indoors under favorable conditions.  According to BugGuide, the range of the Oleander Aphid included Maine, and though there are no Canadian reports, we can assure you that insects do not respect international borders.  It is also possible that a recently acquired plant was purchased with a preexisting population of Aphids that initially escaped notice, but eventually multiplied.

Letter 5 – Aphid Infestation

 

Aphids?
Hi Daniel and Lisa,
Found these on my roses… my best guess is that they are aphids. They are on practically every branch tip of my roses. Grrrr. I will try hosing them off with a strong spray, and then will try the soapy water you recommended in one of your aphid letters. Wish me luck!
Yvonne
Barrie , Ontario

Hi Yvonne,
That is some Aphid infestation you have there. We have had some springs when we have a similar situation on our own rose bushes. The hose works very well because many of the young aphids are flightless and cnnot get back to the young tender rose shoots once they have been knocked to the ground. We also have problems with yellow aphids with black legs on our hoyas.

Letter 6 – Aphids

 

Great site!
I have been searching for hours to try to find out what this bug is that has taken over one of my butterfly weed plants. Should I worry about it infesting the rest of my garden? I was reading some of the other posts and this is such a great resource for curious folks like me! Hope you can help me identify this bug.
Thanks, Timlie Reis
Gulf Coast Mississippi

Hi Timlie,
You have Aphids. These pests can easily infest many types of plants. You have some winged sexual adults which mate in the typical manner. They then produce generations of female aphids which do not need a mate, but can give live birth without the help of a male. The aphids then become very plentiful. They damage plants by sucking the juices from new growth. They are uaually very host plant specific but other aphids are more general feeders. You can easily eliminate them or at least contro them with diligent daily hosing. Use a strong spray to wash them away. You can also spray them with soapy water. It clogs their breathing aparatus and causes them to drown.

This is an additional comment relating to the milkweed in Temile’s photo. It was a milkweed plant which is the host plant for a number of butterflies, including monarchs. Your advice about using soapy water to rid it of aphids was correct but would also kill off butterfly eggs, caterpillars & chrysalises. A strong stream of water will also wash off eggs, caterpillars and possibly chrysalises. There is hope, however! The natural predator for the aphids is the lady beetle. My experience is that lady beetles usually come along about 2 weeks after the start of an aphid infestation. If the infestation is not overwhelming I usually leave the aphids for the lady beetles. The lady beetles may also lay eggs and the larva will devour the aphids. But if my plants are overwhelmed by aphids or there are caterpillars feeding which need the leaves right away I control by carefully hand-squishing aphids (while they’re still on the stems & leaves) until the lady beetles show up. Yech! But having monarchs around the yard all year is worth it. You do a fabulous job!
Warmly,
Kathleen Scott

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