The Bug Chicks - A site for parents, teachers and bugdorks.
Aphids, like the ones on this plant, can be major agricultural pests. They have a long, needle-like mouthpart called a rostrum that they use to jab into the leaves and drain the plant sap. Even though aphids are small, they’re pretty easy to identify – just look for the rounded, squishy bodies and two cornicles coming off the end of the abdomen (cornicles look a bit like short little tubes). These aphids were feeding in a community garden in Chimaltenango, Guatemala. If you want to learn how aphids warn each other when predators are near check out our post: Message in a Cornicle.
