APHIDS, CICADAS, AND ALLIES

Green Peach Aphid, Myzus persicae

Order: Homoptera (Aphids, cicadas, and allies)

Size: Up to 1⁄8"

Habitat: Orchards, gardens near trees in the peach family, including plum, cherry, and apricot

Range: Throughout North America

Aphids comprise a group of thousands of species throughout the world. They are typically quite small with soft bodies, thin legs, long antennae, a taillike appendage, and tubular growths called cornicles on either side of the back. The Green Peach Aphid is yellowish green, but winged forms are also black on the head and thorax. They feed on sap in plant tissue of a wide variety of garden plants and trees by inserting a specialized sucking mouthpart called a stylet, and discharge a sticky, sugary fluid known as honeydew. Because of their ability to reproduce asexually, populations can grow very fast and become major pests. However, they are an important food source for many other insects, especially ladybird beetles and their larvae. Some aphid colonies are tended by ants, who protect them in exchange for a constant supply of honeydew.