Aphid Life Cycle
Aphids, an Introduction The aphids are probably best known as "greenfly", "blackfly" and "white fly". They belong to a group of insects known as "bugs" or Hemiptera, the mouth parts of which are modified to form piercing and sucking tubes. The insects obtain their food by sucking plant juices or the blood of other animals. This group of insects has an incomplete metamorphosis, there being no pupal stage but a series of molts in which the nymph gradually becomes a mature adult. There are over 4000 species and varieties of aphids but the account given below applies in general to those commonly encountered as garden and orchard pests. Life history . In October the females lay eggs usually on the stems of trees or shrubs. The eggs are black, with thick shells and can withstand extremes of temperature. It is in the egg form only that aphids pass the winter. In March the eggs hatch out into wingless female nymphs which are similar to the adults, with...