Aphid

Group:

Animal, Invertebrate (minibeast)

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Food chain :

Herbivore

What it eats :

Plant sap - trees, shrubs, herbs and grasses.

Eaten by:

Ladybird, hoverfly larvae.

Habitat:

Woodland; Wildflower GrasslandWoodland; Wildflower Grassland

Description:

Aphids (greenfly and blackfly) are small sap- sucking insects. They have piercing mouthparts that they stick into plant stems and leaves. They usually have a pair of 'horns' at the back of the abdomen (the last body section) that they exude honeydew from. Honeydew is part-digested plant sap, and is very sweet and sticky. Ants 'farm' aphids for their honeydew, protecting them from predators. Many aphids have a complicated life-cycle with winged and wingless adults, and sometimes they produce young without mating.