We have talked about aphid mummies before. They are the hardened shells formed when the aphids are parasitized by tiny wasps.
This week the oleander aphids, Aphis nerii, have a high percentage of mummies. In fact, it was hard to find healthy bright yellow aphids. The mummies are all the beige to dark brown forms.
In this photograph there’s a winged aphid that is mummified (the only live aphid is right behind it).
If you look closely, you can see the dark round hole in the back to the aphid’s abdomen where the adult wasp emerged.
Parasitic wasps are one reason aphids may disappear from plants so quickly.
Last week I gave you two photographs that were teeming with insects. Many of you recognized the orange-yellow bumps were aphids.
Okay, it is very small, but between the legs of the butterfly is a newly hatched caterpillar. See the little guy with the black head at the arrow tip? It is a monarch butterfly caterpillar.
In this video, you can see one hatching under a microscope. (Video has music).
Another insect is hidden within those dark-colored aphids.
See the ones that are black or dark red? They are parasitized, which means they are carrying a tiny wasp larva inside them.
Eventually the dark aphids will stiffen and cling to the stem. In that stage they are called an aphid mummy. After a few days the larvae inside will complete its life cycle, pupate and then emerge as an adult wasp.
You can see where a wasp emerged from this aphid mummy through the round hole in the back.
Here’s the tiny wasp that emerged from the hole. She will lay her eggs in yet more aphids, resulting in yet more aphid mummies.
Finally, there is one other interesting thing about this picture. See that the butterfly has its mouthparts extended? I watched this butterfly for several minutes before taking its picture. It was sucking up the honeydew from the aphids.
We got to see all this because we planted a special plant in our yard. Do you have any plants that attract insects in your yard?
Did you know that wasps come in all sizes, including tinier than an aphid?
The yellow oleander aphids return each year about this time and feed on our desert milkweed. In turn, a number of other organisms use them for food, such as the tiny wasps.
This week the oleander aphids, Aphis nerii, have a high percentage of mummies. In fact, it was hard to find healthy bright yellow aphids. The mummies are all the beige to dark brown forms.
In this photograph there’s a winged aphid that is mummified (the only live aphid is right behind it).
