Aphids are sucking insects that can cause curling and distortion of the young growth. The presence of aphids, their shed skins and honeydew can reduce the aesthetic quality of a wide range of greenhouse crops. All too frequently aphids are detected when plants are in flower, near the time of sale, when effective control is more difficult to achieve. Other species that growers may encounter include the gray cabbage aphid, the pale green foxglove aphid, and reddish-brown chrysanthemum aphid. Tulip bulb aphids can infect many different bulbs in storage.
Proper identification is important in order to choose the most effective management option.
These cornicles are the same color as the body and only slightly darkened at the tip. There is more variation in colors within the same aphid colony. Melon aphids may be yellow to green to purplish-gray to black with distinctive white patches on the abdomen. Their cornicles are completely black. Feeding Damage Aphids feed by inserting their stylet-like, sucking mouthparts directly into the phloem and removing plant sap.