Aphids - an excursion into the life of a small parasite

Aphid is not only one of the main pests of crops, but also a carrier of many diseases. This parasite eats plant juices, draining them and leading to inevitable death. Crop losses can be very significant, and therefore gardeners spend a huge amount of effort to fight this insect.

Characteristic

Aphid is a representative of the superfamily of insects and belongs to the order of the semi-rigid winged. Somewhat earlier, she was assigned to the unit of Equine. In total there are more than 4 thousand species of this pest and 1 thousand of them live in Europe. Many species parasitize on cultivated plants and are able to spread viral diseases that cause the development of anomalies, in particular, gallop-like formations.

Structural features

Now let's see how aphids look. This is a small insect whose body length is several millimeters. Depending on the type, the body will be painted in a certain color. In home gardens, aphids of green, white, red and black are most often found. The insect can be winged and wingless. Winged individuals quickly spread throughout the territory and contribute to the change of the host plant, wingless - mainly breed.

The aphid's oral apparatus is represented by a sharp proboscis, with the help of which it pierces the surface of leaves and shoots and sucks the juice from plants. Such foods are rich in carbohydrates and amino acids, and it is these substances that contribute to the activity of parasites and their extremely high fecundity.

On a note! Based on what the aphids feed on, it is easy to imagine what damage it can cause to agricultural land!

Breeding

Now it’s worth considering how aphids breed. In the fall, females lay eggs on plants and they calmly survive the winter on them. In spring, larvae emerge from the eggs, which immediately begin to actively feed on the juices of their "master". Having passed the stage of molting, young individuals without fertilization produce wingless females.

On a note! As a result of parthenogenetic reproduction in only a month, only one female is able to become the ancestor of three generations, in which there will be several hundred thousand insects!

When the young shoots are lignified, aphids with wings will appear. They will fly to neighboring cultures of a certain type. Over the summer period, parasites are able to give life to ten generations in which both wingless and winged forms will be present.

Closer to fall, production of winged males begins. They return to their "master", on which the females again lay their eggs.

Aphid belongs to insects with incomplete transformation, that is, it does not have a pupal stage. Some species reproduce without laying eggs - live births. Live larvae are formed parthenogenetically, and their embryonic period exceeds the aphid life span, therefore females are born already pregnant.

Most common types

As mentioned above, all there are about 4 thousand species of aphids.It is not possible to consider all of them, so we will pay attention to those that are most common.

• Bean aphid, or beetroot - parasitizes on beets, dill, beans and peppers. It may turn out to be on cucumbers, but after eating it with juices it soon dies. As a result of parasitization in plants, metabolic processes are disturbed and their productivity decreases. Beet aphid populates the entire aerial part of the culture, forming a dense colony. This insect is colored green, black or brown, legs are colorless, eyes are black, proboscis is long with a dark tip.
• Acacia, or alfalfa aphid damages the upper parts of alfalfa, as well as buds and young shoots. It is a carrier of viral and other diseases of this plant. You can meet her in the second half of summer, and in the most arid period. This aphid hibernates in the form of eggs in alfalfa, from which larvae emerge in spring and migrate to acacia and cotton.
• Pea aphid - parasitizes on peas, clover, lentils, melilot, and other leguminous plants. Insects of this species differ from others in their body length: wingless females can reach 4.5 mm, and winged ones - 5 mm. The body is painted dark green, eyes are brown, legs are light with dark legs.
• Elm-sedge aphids - in the spring it spreads to elm leaves, after which it migrates to the root system of sedges. As a result of infection with this insect, the growth of decorative sedges is inhibited.
• Rosaceous aphid - attacks rose bushes, where it settles with very numerous colonies. Infects the lower part of the leaf plate, buds, peduncles and young stems.
• White aphid - has a translucent body and with the naked eye it can be mistaken for a drop of dew. Its dimensions are insignificant - no more than 1 mm. Most often parasitizes on indoor plants.
• Black aphid is not a separate family, but several species that people have united in one group, starting from the color. These insects inhabit mainly cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers and cherries.
• Cherry aphids - one of the main pests of fruit stone fruits. Parasitizes mainly on cherries and cherries. Distributed in all regions where these fruit trees are grown.
• Cereal aphids - devastate meadows, lawns, fields where cereal crops are cultivated. Bird cherry aphid belongs to this species - it affects spring and winter barley, wheat, corn, oats and rye. This pest belongs to the multi-species and is able to quickly destroy the crop on fairly vast fields.

Habitat

Aphids prefer habitats with a warm, humid climate - in such conditions it is able to exist normally and actively reproduce. The distribution area of ​​this parasite is very large and covers an area that extends from Siberia to Western Europe, and it lives not only in gardens, parks and fields, but also in the steppes and forests.

What is the danger?

Damage from aphids can be very large-scale, especially if you do not notice this pest in time and start fighting with it.

A small parasite drains plants, which eventually weaken and lose their ability to bloom and bear fruit. Especially at risk are indoor crops and young shoots. Being unprotected, such plants begin to languish, their leaves curl, and the stem becomes thinner.

Natural enemies

And who eats aphids? The most famous natural enemies include:

• ladybug larvae;
• laceworm larvae;
• larvae beetle flies;
• crickets;
• cicadas;
• ground beetles;
• wasps;
• earwigs;
• rider.

And so that these insects can help you in the fight against aphids, it is enough to attract them to your site, planting certain varieties of plants along its perimeter.

Interesting Facts

And finally, we suggest you familiarize yourself with some interesting facts about aphids:

• Aphids are a pretty defenseless insect, but they have serious patrons.These are ants who like to enjoy the sweet paddy secreted by aphids, and therefore even put their eggs in their anthill so that they can survive the winter;
• parasitizing in warm areas, these insects are able to produce 30 new generations in one year;
• American scientists calculated the total mass of aphids parasitizing on 2 hectares of sugar beet plantings - their weight was 25 kg;
• Aphids can also be beneficial - in the juices of some plants there is a large amount of sugar, which leads to disruption of the photosynthesis process. These insects suck out the juice, reducing the amount of sugar, and the pad, which falls on the ground, saturates it with nitrogen.