A valuable guide to aphid identification, you will learn all about this pesky insect. Aphids are considered plant lice and are common plant feeding insects. Usually they do not occur in damaging numbers. Occasionally large populations develop that may temporarily reduce the aesthetic quality of trees and shrubs and even kill small plants such as annual flowers.

This aphid identification guide will teach you:

How can you identify aphids?
Most mature aphids are about an eighth of an inch long and are yellow or light green. A few are black, shades of red, brown, white, or grey. Aphids may be winged or wingless. Each aphid has six thin legs, two antennae on the head, a pair of tubes on the back, and a slender “beak” which is pushed into plants to suck sap. Most aphids prefer to feed on buds and the underside of terminal leaves; however, some species are adapted to feed on roots.

What is an aphid’s life cycle?
Aphid populations may build up quickly. When the over- wintering eggs hatch in the spring, usually April or May, the emerging insects are all females. After that, females produce females (generally they are born alive) without male fertilization, throughout the summer. In hot weather, a generation may be produced every one to two weeks. Finally, in the fall, a generation of both males and females appears. The two sexes then mate and the females deposit oval, black eggs on the bark of shrubs and trees. These eggs do not hatch until the next spring.

This aphid identification guide will also teach you about the types of damage aphids can inflict upon plants. It also includes a valuable control guide, which discusses biological, physical and chemical control methods.

Learn how to prevent the damage caused by aphids today … before it’s too late!