Aphids are considered one of the most devastating insects in the agriculture industry and their control is a critical issue. They attack many different plant groups- brassicas to legumes to cotton to fruits/vegetables to ornamentals. They are sap-suckers, vectors of disease, and they secrete honeydew that causes growth of sooty molds. This pest owes a lot of its success to its efficient asexual reproductive scheme- adults give live birth to pregnant nymphs and their numbers multiply rapidly.

There is no egg stage. An adult female may live for up to one month. During this time, she may give birth to 40 to 100 live nymphs. (CT-IPM)

Unchecked, this pest can wreak havoc on a crop, a farmer’s livelihood, and the general public as consumers.

This destructive insect has been labeled a pest in agriculture, as it has led to hundreds of millions of dollars in loss, as well as job loss and more chemical pesticide use (which can inevitably lead to immunity in many species).

 

An additional $10.02 million in output to other supporting industries was also lost, as was $101.3 million from farm households hit financially by the aphids. (Domel, 2018)

Many efforts have been made to combat this pest but the most successful has been with the release of natural predators into the crop environment.

 

Aphidius colemani, commonly called the Parasitoid wasp uses aphids for its reproduction. The wasp lands on the aphid and lays its eggs inside it. After the eggs hatch, the larvae eat their way out of the host, killing the aphid. This biological control process takes 2 weeks and is more than effective- it’s a natural solution. When it comes to conservation and the future of agriculture, the need for biological controls is imperative.

Integrated Pest Management is optimal when it takes the whole ecosystem into consideration. Working with nature and the tools its provided, rather than against it, will benefit humanity greater than imagined.