Aphids

I noticed this cluster of aphids on one of my milkweed plants.

Like most gardeners, I do not like to see these insects.

Aphids are soft bodied. They come in many different colors. The trouble with aphids is that they kill many plants. Their feeding causes leaf curling. They can wilt a plant and even spread diseases from one plant to another.

I do not spray insecticide (poison) on the aphids because it would also harm the caterpillars I am trying to feed.

One good thing about aphids though is the insect that feeds on them, Ladybird Beetles.

Next page

Back to Main page / Resources

Common milkweed infested with yellow aphids

Classification: Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Arthropoda, Class: Insecta,
Order: Hemiptera, Suborder: Sternorrhyncha, Superfamily: Aphidoidea

IPM & the Mystery Caterpillar

Milkweed & Monarch Butterfly Mania