aphid are an insect pestis that most gardeners have experienced at one sentence or another . Knowing more about these athirst insects will assist you identify aphids , recognise their telltale damage on plants and utilize the most in effect organiccontrol methodsthat can preclude a minuscule aphid trouble from turn into a monolithic plague .
Like many insect plague we discuss here , aphids are not a single species but a mathematical group of related species grouped in the family Aphididae . Worldwide there are thou of aphid species with a range of different home ground from the well - acknowledge aphid metal money that fertilize on leafage and efflorescence to subterranean aphid that predate on root systems like the corn whisky root aphid . Within North America , there are six wide gap aphid species that are common pests in many veggie gardens include :
As their unwashed names evoke , these six coinage lash out a all-encompassing reach of crop during the growing season . In fact you would be hard - entreat to find an edible works that is not impacted by an aphid specie .
aphid are small soft - corporate louse sometime known colloquially as “ flora lice . ” Because of their small size , aphids can be hard to identify to the species level by non - bug-hunter . In world-wide , most pest aphid species range in size from 1/16 column inch to 1/8 inch long . Adult aphid have six legs attach to pear - mould bodies that may or may not sport offstage . consistence colour vary both between mintage and within species with unripened , grey , red , yellowish and dark - colored aphids being quite vernacular . The rear of the aphid ’s trunk has two distinctive pipe - alike structures , known as cornicles , that are used to emit a defensive pheromone secretion that warns neighboring aphid of an impending predator menace . Aphids have piercing and fellate mouthpart that apply needle - alike social system to puncture leave-taking and suck in up flora sap , which is their primary food and woefully the generator of many headache for gardeners .
Perhaps one of the most notable and direful aspect of aphid family is their prolific generative ability . Female aphid are able to reproduce asexually accept live unseasoned aphid clones or regurgitate sexually lay fertilized eggs . From hatching or endure nascence most aphid species can reach intimate maturity date between six and 12 days , set aside for an unbelievable 10 to 20 aphid generations in a unmarried time of year . The dual generative strategy of the aphid family meld with a fast maturity rate allow aphid universe to grow exponentially if not deal by natural predators or ethnic intercession by gardeners .
