Identify a possible pest.

[Potstubsdustbins]

Can you help me identify a very small possible pest, that small I cannot get a half decent picture.

They are black, look to have 6 legs, vary between 1mm and 2mm across and attract ants.

They have appeared as a swarm, not flying just hundreds of them from next door. If I look over my fence I can see what look to be bunches of them on small tree branches waiting to hatch, the branches look like the are covered in black velvet at the joints.

Can we identify it and is it a pest and if it is how to get rid.

Thanks Potty

[Jungle Jane]

Are they aphid nymphs?

[rustylady]

pollen beetles?

[Zelenina]

If ants like them they are probably black aphids aka blackfly. Do you know what kind of trees they are on? Elders in particular often get huge numbers of black aphids on their younger branches. They wouldn't be waiting to hatch but sitting there sucking out the plant juices. The ants like the sweet sticky liquid they secrete.

If they are aphids they will probably only infect their favourite kind of tree and won't spread to everything in your garden. There are different species of aphids for different kinds of plants.

[Potstubsdustbins]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^ That's sounds spot on they were on an Elder and on the younger, smaller branches.

Now they seem interested in my strawberry plants.

Thanks one and all.

[roitelet]

Your dead right, Zelina. I've got Lupin aphids!!!!!! So big that they almost weigh the plant down!!

[astraman1]

ants are attracted by the sap they excrete from your plants put some wash liquid in a spray bottle with water and spray them

or squish them

[Zelenina]

Strawberries have their own special Strawberry aphid, Potty. And apparently melon aphids, peach aphids and potato aphids also like them for a bit of variety in their diet. But I haven't read anything about elder aphids attacking strawberries. They generally prefer sorrel or campion when they're not feeding on elder. So if they are on your strawberries, hopefully they are just passing through.

[Zelenina]

Your dead right, Zelina. I've got Lupin aphids!!!!!! So big that they almost weigh the plant down!!

I haven't noticed aphids on my lupins, roitelet, but they grow like weeds in my garden so I've never bothered to look for pests on them. I'll look more carefully next time.

[Potstubsdustbins]

^^^^^^^^^^^^You were right just passing through no harm done.

Thankyou