Monster Aphids

[Two_Sheds]

You haven't seen aphids till you've seen these beggars - they are huge! To put it in context, the willow is pencil thickness.
They're Willow Aphids: I found them while making my willow obelisks. I thought it was myself that was bleeding, until I looked closely at all the mashed up bodies on my hands - gross
(photo courtesy of T. Collins, Silwood, Imperial College)

[madderbat]

Are we likely to come across them if we don't have willow on the plot?
Living in the river valley there is a lot of crack willow around ......
dum dum dum da dum

[Two_Sheds]

I think they're pretty reliant on willow. How they found mine, I don't know, it's hidden :-)

[Protea]

A lot of aphids do have 'woody' winter hosts, where they overwinter either as adults, or more commonly as eggs. In spring they hatch, produce winged babies who fly off to thier summer host (our fruit and veg usually! ).

I'm not familiar with the Willow aphid, so it may just host on Willow, but examples of '2 host' aphids are: lettuce currant aphid (currant bushes are host), black bean aphid (Spindle bush - Eunomys europaeus, or Viburnum are host), peach potato aphid (winter host peach - although in UK mostly on herbaceous plants, weeds and brassicas), lettuce root aphid (poplar trees are overwintered host), all of which we will find on our fruit and veggies throughout the summer! (mealy cabbage aphid is an example of a 1 host aphid - living exclusively on brassicas, and overwintering on my brussel sprouts! )

[Two_Sheds]

(mealy cabbage aphid is an example of a 1 host aphid - living exclusively on brassicas, and overwintering on my brussel sprouts! )

Thanks 4 that, I wondered what sort of aphid was surviving on the sprouts/brocolli... like a blackfly, but dark grey not black. Now I know!