Melon aphids (Aphis gossypii) are major pests of lots of different plants throughout the world. I first had them on my cucumber plants a couple of months ago, and now they have moved onto my zucchini plants.
What did I do? Spray the aphids with insecticide? Pull the plants out?
Check the video to find out!
What would you have done? Please let me know in the comments.
Always a pleasure to watch. Hover flies are abundant in my garden.
Thanks Teena!
Thanks again Denis. Always so interesting and we can see the pests in a different light – the food source for other creatures.!
Thanks Anne!
One day last autumn, I decided to cut back some chives that were growing a little overenthusiastically. I composted all the bits I’d cut off and admired the result.
The following morning, I was in the garden again, only to find my remaining chives had ‘turned black’ overnight. They were covered by what appeared to be a moist, black substance that looked awful. I tried to wash it off with a blast of the hose, with limited success.
I had no idea what had caused it, but didn’t want it to spread further, so I cut the remaining plants down to the ground, hoping they would regrow. Fortunately, there are now some new, healthy shoots appearing.
However, I feel pretty silly, as I suspect that the black ‘powder’ was indeed, these aphids, and my horror was unwarranted. Ooops.
Hi Meron.
Almost certainly aphids but not the ones in the video – melon aphids (Aphis gossypii). They are most likely onion aphids (Neotoxoptera formosana). Onion aphids are specific to allium crops and will not infest other plants.
Thanks for commenting.
Cheers
Denis