Aphids ( Aphis spp . ) do not bite human beings orchew plant leaves . Instead , these small , soft - bodied insect insert microscopically slight , piercing mouthparts into plant leaf and prow phloem and provender off of carbohydrate - rich plant juices . Commonly called industrial plant louse , colonies of aphid come in saliva into plants as they suck fluids . The saliva forestall combat injury healing , causing leaf to curl and become distorted .

Identification

Step 1

Pear - shaped , soft aphid bodies are 1/16 to 1/4 column inch long , and may be wing or wingless . aphid have three pair of long , slender legs and conspicuous , long antennae . At the nates of the organic structure , an aphid has two additional projections called cornicles . Varying from little more than stoma in sure metal money to tusk - like tubes in others , cornicles release a lipid fluid , which is a waste Cartesian product of the insect ’s high-pitched carbohydrate diet . Although most aphid coinage are green or black , some aphids are gray , pinkish , lilac , sensationalistic , chocolate-brown or red . Certain aphid specie have a waxy or woolly appearance due to body secernment .

Life Cycle

The aphid reproductive bicycle adjusts to environmental consideration to maximise survival of the species . During active plant growth , when food source are plentiful , all aphid are distaff and procreate parthenogenetically — without mat up . distaff aphids give birth to live young , sometimes birth 12 nymphs a 24-hour interval . immature aphids mature in approximately 10 day . Some aphid develop wing , which allow them to spread to other flora . In the autumn , as day duration shortens and food source become more scarce , both manful and distaff aphid are born , creating a generation adequate to of snarl and producing ballock . Stuck to institute leaves and staunch , eggs overwinter and produce female aphid the following spring .

Honeydew

As sap soft touch , aphids produce a sugary permissive waste anticipate honeydew , which draw certain types of ants . The ants take advantage of the food source produced by the aphids and the two have developed a mutually good kinship . Ant shepherds move aphid from declining plants to succulent plants and even overwinter aphid egg in their burrows . Ants eat up honeydew off of industrial plant or stroke aphids with their antennae to shake the secretion of honeydew droplets . To protect their nutrient reservoir , ants sometimes fight off aphid predators . Ants , however , exploit aphids by keep them from leaving the settlement by chew off their annexe or emitting a chemical substance that prevents young aphid from developing wing .

Damage

Although aphids do n’t sting , they do cause harm . Aphid mintage feed off of many type of plant life , include food crop , ornamentals and trees . Colonies of aphids suck vital juices out of tender plant growth , stunting plant . Viral diseases are sometimes transmitted to plants as aphid fee on their juices . And the honeydew melon secreted by aphids boost black fungous growth , resulting in a sooty covering on flora farewell , which can intervene with photosynthesis .

References

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