Angel Devies, of Tacoma, Wash., for her question:
WHAT IS THE LIFE CYCLE OF THE APHID?
Everyone interested in gardening, from the farmer with his hundreds of acres. down to the city dweller with a tiny plot in his backyard, has more than likely met this plant pest. The aphid is the archenemy of rose growers and an unwelcome intruder in any garden. Were it not for a few insect allies that devour them at a prodigious rate, we just might be up to our eyeballs in aphids.
The troublesome aphids are a large group of small, soft bodied, pear shaped insects. If you have them in your garden, you can bet they are up to no good. Their favorite foods are the juices of plants, and their handy dagger sharp
beaks are perfect tools for sap sucking. Chances are, the first aphids you spot will be wingless. However, soon enough winged forms will appear and spread throughout the greenery.
The life cycle of the aphids is unusual, even in an insect world where the unusual can be expected. Most species spend the winter as an egg, safe and snug in some hidden spot. In the spring, when new plants are emerging and old plants are sending out new growth, the eggs hatch into tiny, wingless aphids most of them females.
The young aphids mature very quickly and generally within a week are giving birth to more aphids. These second ¬generation aphids are born alive and ready to go. In a short time, perhaps three or four days, the second generation can also produce living young. Each female will produce about 100 young before she dies. By the end of summer it would take a computer to figure out how many millions of aphids came from the first springtime eggs.
With so many mouths to feed, food sometimes becomes scarce. Sad to say, this doesn't stop the pesky aphid. Almost as if by magic a generation of winged females will be born. These will feed for a few days and then fly to a new plant and begin producing more young.
As summer gives way to fall, a change begins to take place in the aphid world. The females still produce new aphids, but these are the last generation. This group consists of both males and females, and they are born with wings. Their purpose is to mate and thereby produce the fertile eggs that will hatch out the following spring.
Perhaps as many as 50 generations of aphids will be produced in a single season. Were it not for their numerous enemies, aphids could in time overrun the world and destroy all plant life. Ladybug beetles, aphid lions and praying mantes are just a few of the insects that help keep our gardens free of these pests. These allies wage an all out war against the aphid and other freeloaders. And, happy to report, they are equal to the task.