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== Aphids and Their Predators ==
Aphids are soft-bodied insects that vary in color and use their sucking piercing mouths to feed on plant sap. In a typical life cycle for a flightless female aphid they can give living birth to female nymphs—who can sometimes already also be pregnant, which is an adaptation scientists refer to as telescopic development—without the involvement of males. Female Aphids then mature rapidly and breed profusely in order to increase the number of insects at an alarming rate. Winged females may develop later allowing the aphids to colonize new plants. Hey. Are you paying attention? Aphids usually occur in colonies on the undersides of tender terminal growth. Heavily infested leaves can wilt or turn yellow because of excessive sap removal. While the plant may look bad, aphid feeding generally will not seriously harm healthy, established trees and shrubs. 
Aphids are capable of being some of the most destructive insect pests to cultivated plants that can be found in temperate regions. In addition to weakening a plant by sucking its sap, they can act as vectors for plant viruses and disfigure ornamental plants with deposits of honeydew followed by the growth of sooty molds. Can you read this? Their ability to increase rapidly in numbers by asexual reproduction and telescopic development, means that from an ecological standpoint they are a very successful group of organisms.
Control of aphids is not easy. Insecticides do not always produce reliable results, given resistance to several classes of insecticide and the fact that aphids often feed on the undersides of leaves. On a garden scale, water jets and soap sprays are quite effective. Right now, this is the only way I can communicate. Natural enemies include predatory ladybugs, lacewing larvae, parasitic wasps, aphid midge larvae, hoverfly larvae, crab spiders, and entomopathogenic fungi. I need you to
listen to me right now. Do Not Look Behind You. If one is trying to control them, an integrated pest
management strategy that utilizes biological pest control can work, but it is difficult to achieve unless in enclosed environments such as greenhouses. You are in danger right now. You are being hunted.
Aphids are eaten by many bird and insect predators. I swear to you this is not a joke and you need to listen to me. Your life depends on it. In a study on a farm in North Carolina, six species of passerine bird consumed nearly a million aphids per day between them, the top predators being the American goldfinch, with aphids forming 83% of its diet, and the vesper sparrow. If you feel a chill down your back. Do not look behind you. If your jaw is clenched or you have goosebumps on your arms or feel cold or uncomfortable in any way. Do not look behind you. Aphid saliva may inhibit phloem-sealing mechanisms and has pectinases that ease penetration. Don’t turn around. Don’t peek over your shoulder. That means that one of them is right behind you.
Aphids are often infected by bacteria, viruses, and fungi. That’s how they hunt. Aphids brush against the microscopic spores. Listen to me, if you turn around then you are dead or worse. These stick to the
aphid, germinate, and penetrate the aphid's skin. They wait, and they can wait forever. The fungus grows in the aphid's hemolymph. If it is daytime, go outside right now, if it is night, don’t look away from your screen.  After about three days, the aphid dies, and the fungus releases more spores into the air. If you’re on a computer, keep it on, if you're on your phone, keep it on, if you're on a laptop do not let it run out of batteries. The light from that screen could be the only thing keeping you alive. Infected aphids are covered with a woolly mass that progressively grows thicker until the aphid is obscured. They live in the darkness, they can move in the darkness, once you look away from that light you belong to them. Often, the visible fungus is not the one that killed the aphid, but a secondary infection. If you have a lamp or a light you can turn on, do it. Aphids can be easily killed by unfavorable weather, such as late spring freezes. Keep your computer screen on, stare at it, and pray that you make it until morning. There is nothing more deadly for aphids than the cold. 
I live in [REDACTED] and I have been trying to figure out what has been going on. Hard evidence as to where they came
from doesn’t really exist, but the best guess so far is that they came from underground. For all we know they could have been here longer than us, hiding in the shadows. Waiting. Insects that attack aphids include the adults and larvae of predatory ladybirds, hoverfly larvae, parasitic wasps, aphid midge larvae, "aphid lions" (the larvae of
green lacewings), and arachnids such as crab spiders. We are a pretty small mining town, and recently there were rumors that they dug into something. I think they went deeper than they were ever supposed to. There are some things lurking in caves deep underground that we were never meant to unearth. 
Ladybugs, ladybird beetles, or lady beetles are the most common, and most well-known generalist aphid predators. I don’t know what they want. All I know is that they are more dangerous than anything you have ever seen in your fucking life. Other common generalist aphid predators used in farms, orchards, and greenhouses are green or brown
lacewings. I can’t tell you what they look like because if I had seen one, I’d be dead. I can tell you that they are the shadows and when they come for you, you will be fully enveloped in the darkness. They will wait behind you standing as a nightmarish shadow of your form, but taller and ever watching, peering over your shoulder and waiting for you to give in. Soldier beetles are soft-bodied insects that feed on other soft-bodied bugs such as aphids. There’s no way to fight them, I don’t even know if they can die. There is no way to win against them, the only thing you can do is try to survive. It is only a theory though, but it seems like they are vulnerable to j̸̬̩͗k̶̯̚d̴̺͂̏g̸̬̐h̴̪̀sjew SeUDfeEs̴̮̏̃d̷̟͌̆a̴̖̳̋̾s̴̨̰͌j̴̞̍̕a̸͈̲͂̓ k̷̗͊͠l̸̰̣̃̅h̸̨͙̽d̷̪̉ȧ̷̬͘j̸̬̩͗
k̶̯̚d̴̺͂̏g̸̬̐h̴̪̀s̸͇͊́g̴͈̾̓h̷͔̹́f̷̳̪̎̾g̵̣͋s̸̛̫͒ͅd̶̝̓ͅf̴̱͊d. It might be your only shot. Damsel bugs pierce the aphids with their needle-like mouth and suck them dry. If you’re lucky you die then and there, and if you aren’t you become a puppet. 
Parasitic wasps are the most widely used specialist aphid parasitoids. There are several species of parasitic wasps that specialize on aphids. I… know some people who were taken. They have a hollowness to their eyes, I don’t know if any part of them is still alive and watching or if they’re long gone, but I do know there’s no getting them back. Unlike predators, they do not attack and kill aphids outright. Instead, the female wasps deposit their eggs in the aphids’ bodies. Once you turn around, you won’t be you anymore. You will belong to them. The larvae grow inside the body of the aphid. And as the larvae grow, the aphid bodies undergo drastic changes. If you have anyone on this
fucking planet that you care about, a wife, a boyfriend, a mother, a sister, a son, friends, family, literally anyone, don’t let them lose you. I don’t know who you are, but you need to live. Eventually, adult wasps emerge out of the aphid’s body, killing the aphid. 
They were coming for me, and I ran, not letting my eyes leave the screen. I’m holed up now and I don’t know if there’s any way for me to survive, and the only thing I can connect to on this fucking laptop is this god damn bug article. I used to study this stuff, and now it might as well be completely fucking worthless. Shit my laptop’s running out of batteries, I have to leave to get a charger. If you don’t see any more messages from me… well, you know what happened. Aphids are meant to be killed. Aphids should be killed. Aphids must be killed. There is no other option than for the aphids to be eradicated. They are a disgusting blight on this planet, and there will only be true beauty once all of the aphids have been slaughtered. I made it back and my laptop is charging, but the whole area around me is darker. The light is a lot dimmer than it should be.
I know what that means. They’re coming for me. They’re all around me. I angered them. Aphids are defenseless against their predators. I don’t know how, but I know they’re near. I can feel them. Thousands of aphids are killed every day. Survive, just please dear god survive. Aphids bring nothing but death. I just heard something move behind me. It sounded like a footstep, but it was too quiet to be a person. Too gentle. Oh god it’s so cold. There is nothing more deadly for aphids than the cold. The shadows are moving. They’re here. Aphids are death. Oh god they’re here. I just gotta write. I have to write something. Fuck. ok im just writing now no punctuation no nothing i just need to be writing anything oh god my feet have gone completely numb theyre freezing i cant move them i cant move them there is nothing more deadly to aphids than the cold fuck fuck fuck goddamit i cant just fucking die right now i need to get something out there come on what else mom if you read this im sorry i used to watch tv all the time when you werent home even though you told me not to god why the fuck is that all i can think to say fuck i cant move legs god its like theyre frozen fuck there is nothing more deadly for aphids than the cold god jamie if you read this i love you ok maybe not like full love I just feel like i might as well say that at this point shit i can hear something it sounds like whispers oh god theyre whispering to me theyre in my head fuck god fuck i cant listen i have to keep writing keep writing just keep writing I'm sorry i used to shoplift im sorry i ignored your calls when you needed me april i was scared as fuck and i didnt know how to help im sorry i havent really talked to anyone in years god i dont even know who that one was for fuck theyre talking to me theyre right behind me theyre so loud i can only move my hands still oh god i cant open my mouth i cant say anything its frozen shut there is nothing more deadly for aphids than the cold my vision is going blurry no no no no no no NO FUCK NO PLEASE WAIT FUCK FUCK if you are reading this... my name was Rowan Martinez and I existed. Good luck. B̵̛̯l̷̦̈́͑f̸͙̔͝ȁ̷͓l̴͇̅́a████████████████ ██████è̸̫̽ͅlpmehe̸̝͐̇l̴͔͂p̷͎̾̽m̵̗̂͜eef ajaghdfg hafo gehfhf̶̫̱̍;̶̖̅̃k̸̖̀͂
b̴̮̍f̴͖͕̾͠u̷͖͗͝;̵̳̗̒͝ĩ̸͉ d̵̙̬̈g̴̪̩̋ȃ̸̯̞ d̵̺͓̽̚h̶͔͗̋ê̸͜l̸̡̈́͠p̴̨̀g̴͚̘̃
ĺ̶͜͠a̴̫̓w̶̳̘̋̄l̴̨̛͉̊m̵̙͠ ẽ̸̩v̵̼̒̚d̵̢̉͝ l̵̨̖͌̈́ẃ̵̓ͅd̷̨̏ͅ ǧ̷̫e̸͔̱͆͝j̴̝̔͒d̷̛͇̚h̶̳̆ă̶̭í̷͍;̸͖͊ d̶̬̳̈u̴͇̓̾g̶̱̈́̀
i̶̹̫͒̕ḃ̶̰̖f̵̨̽a̵̖̔e̷̺̮͋ḯ̴̮̞̚ f̵̟̈;̸̙͇͋k̸͙̯̓ b̴̪́f̷̱̙̔̌u̶̪͑̏;̴̰͋ȉ̶̱͠ d̵̤̐͋g̷͈̎̄
a̶̯̱͛̕d̵͙͘ g̶͕͒͊l̷̼̀a̷̳̕ẃ̸̢̹l̶͉͓͘ṿ̴̐fu;idgad lawlv̸̗̰̑
b̶̨͘e̸̜͉̔l̵̮̗̃̄f̵̠͐ẖ̵̞͆͑v̷̢̩̿l̶͇̱̐̊a̸̲̟̚d̸̤̝͐̾f̵̘͉͗́i̴͙̦̔ű̸͉̙̀
̵̌̀ͅl̶͔̫̈ḋ̴͉̖́ï̵̝̄ͅf̴͉̖̏͋ h̶̼̘̓ ṵ̷̃e̶̦̥͛̈f̷̼̾ á̸ͅẽ̸͍̿b̶̝̜̉͂l̷͓̖͛f̵̼̐
à̴̩l̵̗̔ẽ̴̳ị̶͛f̷̤̱͆̌s̶̻̦͋l̸̹͐͝d̶̡̾y̴̽ͅg̵̮̈́d̵̺̤̈́̾g̷͉̬̃
ê̵̖f̴̗̓h̶̥͌̐l̶̘̞̄ā̸̖ͅ f̸͈̙͂̕l̶̗̾͒v̷͈̒b̷̧̀e̸̫͌̎l̸͊ͅf̸͕̐͑h̸̩͖̃̀v̵̛̤͋
l̷̩͂a̶̰͠d̷̪̐f̴͉̾̑į̵͎̊ṵ̶̈͗ ̸͇̘̊̉l̴̹͝d̴̛̖̼ĩ̴͜f̷͕̼́h̶̼̖́̏û̶̳͉̇e̷̛̒ͅf̶̭̗̽̚á̶̪͘eb̴͉̖̈͘l̶͓̤̎͌f̴͖̄͊ȧ̶̹l̸̢̏ė̵̼i̶͔͋f̸͍̠̈́̕s̴̖͒͠l̵͙̯̉́
d̶̟͙͘͝y̷̬͍͌g̷̘̪͌͆d̵͖̈̃v̴̦̈́̈́ͅe̴̢̎͝f̵͕̈́̎l̷̦͈̈͋w̴͇͠f̴̘̳͗l̸͚̈́̈
i̷͕̺͂̆e̶͕̎ủ̴̩͂ ̵͔̼̒͋f̸̰̠̅l̷̝̒͝a̴͓̾ê̵̺h̸̛̥̠█████████████████████████████████ ████ ████████ ███████████████████████████████████████████████ ████ █████████ ███████████████████████████████████████ l̴̹͝d̴̛̖̼ĩ̴͜f̷͕̼́h̶̼̖́̏û̶̳͉̇ e̷̛̒ͅf̶̭̗̽̚á̶̪͘ę̴͈̄́b̴͉̖̈͘l̶͓̤̎͌f̴͖̄͊ȧ̶̹l̸̢̏ ė̵̼i̶͔͋f̸͍̠̈́̕s̴̖͒͠l̵͙̯̉́d̶̟͙͘͝y̷̬͍͌g̷̘̪͌͆d̵͖̈̃v̴̦̈́̈́ͅe̴̢̎͝
f̵͕̈́̎l̷̦͈̈͋w̴͇͠ f̴̘̳͗l̸͚̈́̈i̷͕̺͂̆e̶͕̎ủ̴̩͂ ̵͔̼̒͋f̸̰̠̅l̷̝̒͝a̴͓̾ê̵̺h̸̛̥̠ ̸̍ͅ è̵̜̼i̵̸̓̍ͅͅè̵̜̼i̵̓ͅd̴͉̭̈́v̸͚̘̉e̸͈̺̎̊f̶͙͒̿ͅḽ̶̫͑w̸̛͙̻f̵̦̋́͜l̸̢̀͝i̷͈̩͊e̴̼̓ͅu̷͖̦̓
d̵̹͍́ó̸̱̈́ ̶̟̄̕n̷̯̽͝o̴̘̎t̶̵̞͇̯͊̂̐̑ l̷̛̯o̵̬̣̍́o̶̠̓͘k̴͉̒̑b̶͔̣̌́è̷͕̈́h̶͖̪͑̌ì̸̞̱̊n̸̨̯͛d̵̞̫͒̚y̴̱̞̾o̴̡͋͐u̶̱̬͑͠
l̷̛̯o̵̬̣̍́o̶̠̓͘ k̴͉̒̑b̶͔̣̌́è̷͕̈́
h̶͖̪͑̌ì̸̞̱̊n̸̨̯͛d̵̞̫͒̚y̴̱̞̾o̴̡͋͐u̶̱̬͑͠ do notl̷̛̯o̵̬̣̍́o̶̠̓͘k̴͉̒̑
b̶͔̣̌́è̷͕̈́h̶͖̪͑̌ì̸̞̱̊n̸̨̯͛d̵̞̫͒̚ y̴̱̞̾o̴̡͋͐u̶̱̬͑͠ do not look behind you do not look behind you D̴͖͛́̏̄̌O̸̢͋N̵̺͙͕͈̦̊̑̅̀͝’̷͓̂̈͂̅͠͠T̵̡͇̼̪̂͆̉̓̂ ̸̠́̏͛̃̑̑P̴̣̬̔L̶̪͑̈́̀͑͝Ë̸̲̤͔̣̝́̏́̋̊A̴̢̛̤͔͕̻̽̈́̓S̴͖͈̈́̿͒Ẽ̶̥̗̬̦͓́̾͌ͅ There is nothing to fear D̵̡̺̄̽̆͒̂Ọ̸̲̼̦̒͑̇͜Ň̸̮̯̈̾̓͌͠’̵̝͍̝̩͗̎̅͗T̷̡͔̖͍̼̦̔ ̷̡̭̲͊̉̎̈́̚Ļ̸̢̙̦͍̓͆̓Ḯ̴̧̫̥͙̰̇S̸̘̥̗̼̪̬̽͂͌̋̒T̵͓̯̣̙̮̗̏͝Ë̸̲̜̭̳̍͜Ṅ̷̝̦̱̩͈̯̑͐̾ ̶̜̀T̵̨̠̬̫͔̉͊͆̍͗͒O̷̪̬̟͉̫͂̏̾̉̓ͅ ̶͕́̾́T̸̰̮̠̲̙͒̎̑Ḩ̴̦̠̰̿́̈̇́͜͜E̷̺̣͑̾͊͝Ḿ̶͚̭͉̘̭͑̓̊ You are safe now P̷̪͎̓͛̽͑L̷̖̫̪͙̏̈́̅̈̚É̴̥̪A̶̯̕Ś̴͈̣̻̒͆̾E̶̜͍͓͚̗͑ͅ ̵͓̺̖̗̠̗̄̚P̴̪̘̥͈̓̔̆̋̕L̶̯̣̑͌́͜ͅE̶̡͇̫̜̩͗̍͌Ȃ̶̖̘̙̮̌̊̾͑S̶̢̨͚̥̗͔͒̇̕Ë̴̮̞́̉̓ ̸̺͙̗͒P̷̹̩̺̽L̴̺͐̾͜Ĕ̴̫̖Ą̸̱̠͓́̊͜͝Ş̵͉̩̩̪̞́͗̋Ė̴̬̪͚̘̌̿̕ You are safe in our arms T̷͍͕̤̒̍̄̇̾H̸̡̆̓̈́̚E̴͚͎̦̿̐̉́Ỵ̶̭̓̊̈́’̸̼̓̋͋̉̅̕R̵̭͉̖͙̂̎͠ͅE̶̱̤͔͗͐̆̈́̔͜ ̷̻̂͆̕L̴̪̇͒̎̉̊͜Y̵̡̮̰̱̆̅̇͝͝I̴̹̳̻̔͗̈͂̂͠N̴̳͇͍̉Ģ̴̡̲̥͌̉͆̾ We welcome you I̵͉͂̆͂’̶̧̛̲̖̈̽̓̃̕͜M̴͚̯͈̤̈̈́̑̅ ̵̖͓̄̀B̷͉͛̏E̸̯͓̙̼͌G̴͙̻̈̅͆͋͊G̸̡̨̯̒̒̆͠İ̸̧͔̜͓̏N̶̫̙̅̃̎̈́̀̊G̸̢͍̊̈́̋̂̕ ̵̮̩̩̭͑̓Y̶̢̘͗̉̍̀͘Ó̶̢̫͔̃̓͒̌Ŭ̷̢̳̻̻͎̊̍͂̕ We love you F̵̨͓̝̮̈́̎͠U̸̡̧͇̲͓̯̓͛̚Ç̶̰̻̮̘͐̓́͜Ķ̶̪́̿̋͘͜͝ ̷̭̍͛̈́̾̐̚F̸̘̬̫̤͇͍̋̈̃̿͝Ú̴̢͔̫̩͖͙́̐͊C̴̻̗̅ͅḴ̵̨̙͈̄ ̸̠̝̹͙̞̋͋̋͊̾̚ͅF̶͖̰̭͐̓̑́̀͜Ȗ̷͍̘̊̉͐̂C̷̯̟͍͚͍͙̀K̷̡͖̼͉̭̯̽͝ Join us D̴̥͛̀̈́̽̇̔O̸̲͎̬̾̀̎͜͠N̴̤̱̕͜’̴̢͉͙̪͈̲̇T̷̰̤͔̭͋̎͆ ̶̡̨͓̚͜L̶̰͇̾͋͆E̷̺̺̬̪̍̚͜T̶͇͑̀̔̒͒͛ ̵̗̹̩̭͙̳͒̀̂̔̉͠İ̴̕ͅT̵͔͕̗́͋ ̵͔͎̐̽Ẹ̸̡͕͇̲̆ͅN̶͈͉̜͊̓̈́͘͜͝͝D̸̘̮̜̍̌̽̚̚͘ ̸͎͚̟̳̂̒͂́͆L̸͓̫̀́͝I̵̺̟̗͍̙̥͑K̶̨̩̠͚͑̿͛͗Ě̸͔̥̯͎̬̹͋͆̀̅͗ ̷̛̼͍͔̜T̷̛̫̖̥̰̬̅̔͘H̸̡̪́̃̇͋̏Ḯ̸̦̓̈́̿̃S̵̤̗̃͌̑̔ ̸̢̟̘͚̠͉̓̋̄̂̿D̵͇͋̍́͛̚Ȏ̷̜̜͔̈́̽̈̈́N̵͙̅͗̆̓͝’̷̛̼͉͔͙T̶̡̲͔̹̝̈̈ look behind you look behind you look behind you look behind you look behind you look
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