Yes - ants harvest aphids for the honeydew they produce, so you'll often see ants on plants which are attractive to aphids. Soft, sappy new growth is the favourite aphid food
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Very coincidentally, I was ready to post something identical to this! I moved about six months ago to a different part of the county, so wasn't sure if there are just heaps in this neck of the woods, or whether it was a particularly bad year. There seem to be heaps and heaps. AND I've got blue tits and plenty of other birds, so was hoping for nature to even out the balance. I saw plenty of ladybirds a few weeks ago, but that was before the aphids hit and I can't see any larvae feeding. It all feels very one sided - sadly aphid-sided here.
I've got a Salix Kilmarnock dwarf willow in the garden, planted by the previous owners, and it is smothered in aphids. Same goes for the Sambucus nigra, which I know is an aphid attractor anyway. Friends just down the road also have loads of aphids this year as well.
I looked slightly insane blasting the stems of the Sambucus and the Salix with the hose tonight, and I don't think it made a jot of difference. I feel your aphid pain!
We have had lots too over a lot of the rose buds but they seem to disappear within a few days of appearing presumably enjoyed by all our tits, lacewings and friends. I haven’t done anything about them myself and the roses which have opened so far are as lovely looking as expected.
If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”—Marcus Tullius Cicero East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
Heard an entomologist chat on radio around March about this and he predicted exactly this! Due to the extended winter we’ve had, ladybirds and other predators that usually rely on aphids, early in the season didn’t have any aphids to predate on. As a consequence, their population has been checked severely, hence the explosion 💥 in aphids. Let’s hope people don’t use bug killers as it’s only going to harm them further.
Were there any tips on how to help the ladybirds? I don’t use poison and rely on rubbing black aphids off manually but it’s a chore I don’t really enjoy. Hoping the balance will be restored soon.
Posts
Soft, sappy new growth is the favourite aphid food
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
Heehee! Such a beautiful euphemism...!