Aphids (Aphidoidea) aka greenfly/blackfly or plant lice

This little plant is supporting life, there on the stalk below the flower - aphids and more.

Aphids live in colonies and most gardeners considered them pests. Aphids feed on the sap from plants - in this case a flower in our garden - which causes leaves to wilt or turn yellow.

Some interesting facts:

•There are about 4,000 species of aphids
• Aphids are born pregnant
• Aphids give birth to live offspring - see photo
• The basic species has been on earth for about 280 million years
• Common predators: ladybugs (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) and hoverfly larvae (Diptera: Syrphidae)

As I was watching these aphids I realized that my timing was rather lucky. There on the flower stem was a female giving birth to a “baby” aphid. Aphids produce continuous generations rapidly through live birth. The mother and baby stayed close together after the event. Click the photo for a larger view.

Now, aphids are phloem-feeders (phloem is living, sappy plant tissue that is full of organic nutrients, especially sucrose). Aphids ingest food in excess and secrete "honeydew” which is rich in carbohydrates and which some ants love. So, long ago, ants and aphids formed a symbiotic relation- ship. Ants "farm" aphids, protecting them from predators and eating the honeydew that the aphids secrete. Some ants even move aphid herds into their nests for the winter.

There near the bottom of the photo is the proof... an ant feeding on sweet honeydew from an aphid’s posterior. Click the image for a magnified view.