Pest on Echinacea purpurea

Question: Hello UME! What insect do I have on these Echinacea purpurea? I am sure this is a common pest that I should know. How can I identify them myself in the future?  To be completely transparent, this is a business setting, and I have reached out to Stanton, but I know you all are quick, and thought there was a possibility you could help faster than his schedule allows.  Thank you so much in helping us learn! This is the Providence Center.  We are learning about natives here and want to protect our plants!  Please guide us. 

It is interesting because they are both on the underside of the leaf, and on the top of the soil. Both life-stages. 
They are also deforming the leaf they are under, making it crinkled in texture. 

I am happy to submit more photos, or gather more info you may need.

responder: Answered by theHome and Garden Information Center (HGIC), University of Maryland Extension. For timely gardening information and tips, subscribe to our Maryland Grows blog and quarterly newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Replied March 15, 2023, 9:54 AM EDT
response: Good Morning, and thank you for the important work that you do!  We are happy to help you identify the insects on your Echinacea plants  and are pleased to hear about your interest in growing native plants.  The insects look like the soft-bodied, sucking insects called Aphids. Here is the page we'd share with homeowners:  https://extension.umd.edu/resource/aphids-flowers  The plump green ones are living, while the white ones shed skins of an earlier life stage. Their populations can build up quickly, as at certain times of year only females are produced, and they are born already pregnant with the next generation. (Crazy insect abilities!)  In our home gardens, we suggest squishing by hand or washing them off with a good blast of the hose. There are multiple beneficial insects that help with control in our gardens. I find that I'll get them on some plants (not usually my coneflowers) in early spring, and while it looks concerning, if I just wait a bit, beneficials like ladybeetles and lacewing larvae come and clean it up for me. Keep an eye out for swollen, white bodies, sometimes with a hole in them, that indicate that a tiny beneficial wasp has parasitized the aphid for you.  Given that you may be growing in a greenhouse or as a purveyor, it would still be best to hear from Stanton on how to proceed.  You may enjoy these pages on native plants:  https://extension.umd.edu/locations/charles-county/master-gardener/native-plants  https://extension.umd.edu/resource/pollinator-gardens   Christine

responder: The Question Asker Replied March 15, 2023, 10:29 AM EDT
response: Christine,   Thank goodness for you! Apids, okay. Very interesting about the white ones being the shed skins of the aphids Those are what caught my eye first!   Love that your first-line-of-defense tips are all so eco-friendly.  I love that I can count on ya'll.    I'm going to keep these pictures for future identification, so we at Providence Center keep getting better and better at knowing what to do ourselves.    P.S. Stanton was able to return my message as well, and told me to bring the plants up to the CMREC lab to be 100% sure, but also thinks they are aphids just like you. He said that its' a bit early for aphids, but warm greenhouses bring them on earlier. lacewings and ladybeetles may still be resting until April when sunlight hours increase, so we might look at a few other options. Interesting! Just wanted to share more info going around.    Gratefully,   Rachel

responder: Answered by theHome and Garden Information Center (HGIC), University of Maryland Extension. For timely gardening information and tips, subscribe to our Maryland Grows blog and quarterly newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Replied March 15, 2023, 11:55 AM EDT
response: We are happy to help :)