This species usually inhabits the roots of its host, although it may attack the bases of plants and foliage of some plants. On occasion the damage can be considerable. Like other soft bodied insects such as leafhoppers, mealybugs and scales, aphids excrete honeydew. This sweet and watery excrement is fed on by bees, wasps, ants and other insects. The honeydew serves as a medium on which a sooty fungus, called sooty mold, grows.
Sooty mold blackens the leaf and decreases photosynthesis.
Aphids vector many plant diseases which cause substantially greater losses than caused by direct feeding injury. This is often the most damaging feature of an aphid infestation. In warm climates like Hawaii, aphid colonies consist completely of females. Reproduction does not involve mating or egg laying. Females give birth to live female nymphs.