To understand fully how the techniques for getting rid of aphids work and perhaps even develop some of your own aphid removal techniques, it is useful to understand a little about what aphids are.
Aphids are members of the superfamily Aphidoidea in terms of taxonomic rank and are also referred to as plant lice, greenflies, blackflies and whiteflies.
They are thought to have been on the planet for around 280 million years. Around four and a half thousand species are known across ten families and they can be found all over the world (however they are more common in temperate regions).
What Do Aphids Look Like?
The image below shows a collection of aphids (shown to scale) at various stages of life.
- A: Adult female aphid
- B: Adult male aphid
- C: Young female aphid
- D: Female aphid laying an egg
- E: Aphid eggs
Aphids in various stages of life
They are soft-bodied insects, which means they have no exoskeleton to protect them from predators.
They can be a multitude of different colors including black, brown and orange, however the most common varieties are green.
They have six legs and two antennae as well as a stylet, which they use for feeding. They stylet pierces the leaves or stalk of a plant and allows the aphid to suck the plant’s sap straight out of the phloem and xylem vessels.
Why Are Aphids a Pest?
Because aphids consume the sap of plant life, they can cause untold damage to crops, which has made them the sworn enemy of many farmers and gardeners.
Given the chance, they will suck all the sap from a plant until it is dead – there is no mutualistic symbiotic relationship, they will simply feed until the plant dies.
This has resulted in the human race developing a number of methods for getting rid of aphids including home-made aphid spray and biological control.
