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Re: [nafex] underground aphids



on 4/14/02 9:12 PM, Ginda Fisher at ginda@concentric.net wrote:

> I was weeding near my currants this morning, and when I pulled out some
> oxalis (wood sorrel) I noticed that there was a cluster of little bugs
> sucking at the roots.  They looked just like aphids.  The smallest one
> were about the size of the tip of a pin (if you cut it off just where it
> starts to thin down) and were white.  The largest ones were about the
> size of the head of a pin, and yellowish.  Every oxalis I pulled in that
> area had these bugs, but the other weeds (grass, a little wild violet,
> assorted odds and ends) didn't.  The rest of the soil fauna seemed
> ordinary - a few worms, a grub, some pill bugs, and a bunch of yellow
> ants - the ones with the distinctive citrusy odor.  Are they aphids, or
> do the underground ones have a different name?  Do you think the ants
> put them there?  I didn't find aphids a few feet away when I pulled up
> oxalis, and didn't see ants, either.
> 
> The oxalis is a weed, and I don't much care what eats it, but I'm
> worried what else might have roots covered with little sucking
> critters.  The currants are just breaking dormancy and look dandy.  Are
> currants susceptible to ground aphids?  Should I dig up a few roots and
> see if they appear infested?  Are there non-toxic treatments available?
> 
What you found is the way many aphid species overwinter - on roots.  Ants
that farm aphids for the honeydew they secrete often bring the aphids
underground and put them on roots just as you have seen.  When the plants
get growing again, the ants carry the aphids aboveground and put them on the
plants to feed.


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