Baylee Dawson

Aphids as Related to Landscaping

Aphids affect plants in an obvious way, causing visual stress to them and ruining the
appeal of landscapes by damaging them and making them distort unnaturally, promoting the
spread of disease, and excreting honeydew, which encourages the growth of sooty mold. In short,
aphids are well-deserving of their reputation as one of the most destructive pests in the
landscaping industry.
Aphids belong to the order ​hemiptera​, an order of insects characterized by their sucking
mouthparts. They are small, pear-shaped insects with two antennae and two abdominal tubes
called cornicles that they excrete fluid from. These insects have three pairs of thin legs and soft
bodies which range in color from green to dark brown to nearly colorless. Aphids also have
compound eyes and sucking mouthparts called stylets, which are enclosed in a modified
mandible sheath called the rostrum. They use these sucking mouthparts to latch onto the leaves,
stems, and roots of plants in order to suck out the plant sap. Usually, they puncture a phloem
vessel in a plant and the sugary sap, which is under pressure, is forced into their feeding canals.
Other times, however, the insects feed from the xylem vessels, which contain much less sugar
and require active sucking to draw out.
As aphids feed they produce honeydew, a sugary liquid that is forced out of them. This
sticky substance encourages the growth of sooty mold on plants, which is both unsightly and
may block leaves from receiving enough sunlight. This in turn causes yellowing and stunted
growth, since the plant is unable to photosynthesise adequately. As aphids draw out plant sap
while feeding, they steal necessary nutrients from the plant. In addition, it causes the plants to
distort and their leaves to droop. Even worse, aphids may spread viral diseases to the plants they
feed on, sometimes even killing the them. Aphids ruin the hard work that goes into a landscaping
project by killing and stunting once thriving plants. They may also attract ants- another
undesirable in the yard- which will “farm” the aphids for their honeydew (Hayshi et. all 2015).
Thus, they are regarded as a pest in the landscaping industry. Landscapers very rarely consider
aphids from any other viewpoint other than an unwanted insect in the yard or garden, and do
everything in their power to remove the infestation. Commercial, synthetic insecticides are a
common and effective solution, and with the removal of aphids often comes a significant
increase in plant growth and production (Kahn, Rehman 2016). Landscapers may also choose a
more natural solution using neem oil, pressurized sprays of water, or by releasing natural
predators of the aphid into the affected area. Releasing insects that feed on the soft-bodied aphid
such as ladybugs and lacewings comes with the risk of the predator becoming a pest in itself
(ladybugs, for example, chew holes in leaves).
All in all, aphids are well-known in the landscaping industry for being damaging and
unwanted pests due to the effects their feeding has on plants.
Baylee Dawson

Bibliography

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