Aphids
Mar 4, 2016 11:35:57 #
Some aphids on a hibiscus plant in my yard.
Canon 7DII at ISO 160, Sigma 150 Macro lens, 1/250-sec at f/9, Canon 430EX speedlight with 6x8 softbox diffuser.
Canon 7DII at ISO 160, Sigma 150 Macro lens, 1/250-sec at f/9, Canon 430EX speedlight with 6x8 softbox diffuser.
Mar 4, 2016 11:38:08 #
Mar 4, 2016 13:22:00 #
Mar 4, 2016 13:56:01 #
Mar 4, 2016 15:48:47 #
Mar 4, 2016 17:02:53 #
Mar 5, 2016 02:08:32 #
Mar 5, 2016 06:33:11 #
Mar 5, 2016 10:47:55 #
I love the second photo. I recently bought 3000 lady beetles at Douglass' suggestion to clear out the aphids on my milkweed plants. They worked great (thanks Douglass) and were inexpensive. Now I notice my Monarch caterpillars are back again and I have already had three chrysalis open up.
Mar 5, 2016 16:10:56 #
Mar 5, 2016 16:55:09 #
Mar 5, 2016 22:31:46 #
Brian in Whitby
Loc: Whitby, Ontario, Canada
Very nicely done.
Those little suckers are very interesting.They reproduce asexually. All the aphids in a group are genetically identical. Essentially they are clones. If an aphid becomes ill, it will throw itself off the host plant falling to an almost certain death. In doing so it helps preserve its genes which will live on in the remainder of the clump of aphids. Sexual reproduction usually occurs at the end of the season with the resulting eggs over wintering. Probably more than you ever wanted to know about aphids.
Those little suckers are very interesting.They reproduce asexually. All the aphids in a group are genetically identical. Essentially they are clones. If an aphid becomes ill, it will throw itself off the host plant falling to an almost certain death. In doing so it helps preserve its genes which will live on in the remainder of the clump of aphids. Sexual reproduction usually occurs at the end of the season with the resulting eggs over wintering. Probably more than you ever wanted to know about aphids.
Mar 5, 2016 23:02:06 #
Thanks again all.
It took me a while to realize that the white "bugs" in the first picture were the molt from the aphids. Also seeing the aphids inside the bloom made it seem like they were endless :-) The second picture highlights the individual insects better though :-) I never had to do anything about these (for the plant I mean), I went and check my hibiscus again yesterday (these pictures were from a few months ago), and I couldn't find any aphids.
It took me a while to realize that the white "bugs" in the first picture were the molt from the aphids. Also seeing the aphids inside the bloom made it seem like they were endless :-) The second picture highlights the individual insects better though :-) I never had to do anything about these (for the plant I mean), I went and check my hibiscus again yesterday (these pictures were from a few months ago), and I couldn't find any aphids.
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