#aphididae — Public Fediverse posts

Yesterday, among some big willows down by the lake, I saw an amazing phenomenon: the grass was absolutely swarming with yellowjackets (there was one every few inches), and, when I looked up, I saw the trees were too!

They didn't seem to be coming from any particular point. I wondered if it was their Sex Day or something, but though I looked closely I didn't see any mating or really any interaction with each other at all. And in the trees I also saw other insects—bald-faced hornets, mud daubers, potter wasps, even what looked like mini dragonflies. Watching the wasps on the ground, I noticed they seemed to be…licking?

Then I noticed the dark blue giant willow aphids. Not that many on the ground, and the wasps were ignoring them. But then I looked at low-hanging branches and saw clusters of aphids, and then I felt…tiny drops!

There were so many aphids in the willow trees that they were showering the branches, leaves, and ground with honeydew (sugary excretions), in turn attracting wasps feeding on it!

Anyway that was just a cool little thing to figure out.

#bugstodon #InverteFest #insects #aphids #Hemiptera #Aphididae

#MiteMonday: Did you know? Legally, you can take as many photos of ants farming ridiculously mite-infested aphids as you want. No one can stop you.

#DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #arachnids #mites #ants #aphids #Acari #parasitism #Parasitengona #Hemiptera #Aphididae #Hymenoptera #Formicidae

#MiteMonday: an oddly colourless whirligig mite (family Anystidae) feeds on a red _Uroleucon_ aphid. Hmmm… :thonking:

#DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #arachnids #mites #Acari #Anystidae #aphids #Aphididae

A _Uroleucon_ aphid is born! It's a girl…and it's a girl!

Aphids can reproduce asexually, and they give live birth, AND their clone babies are born already pregnant with their own clones. This helps them multiply so fast. (They can also switch to sexual reproduction and laying eggs.)

Note the cluster of orange-red parasitic mites on the mother aphid! They're something from the large group Parasitengona (which includes red velvet mites, sidewalk mites, etc.), but I need to do more research to narrow it down.

#DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #arachnids #mites #parasitism #bugstodon #insects #aphids #Acari #Parasitengona #Hemiptera #Aphididae