Rose aphids after a mild winter

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Mon Mar 19, 2012 12:04 am

My roses don't even really have leaves yet, and this is what the buds/stems look like.

Single shot, MP-E 65 at f/16, single flash with diffuser and fill reflector.

--Rik

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Mon Mar 19, 2012 6:37 pm

Geez, what you need are some lady beetles...bad

Every time I see a conglomeration of aphids like this, I always find myself picking over the photo to see if any are caught giving birth.

dbur · Post by **dbur** » Mon Mar 19, 2012 7:57 pm

I hate these things. (nice picture though)

The black ones (onion aphids) have infested my shallot seed stock. They're not supposed to like onions or garlic.

off topic: Anyone know how to purge these things? I'd like to avoid nasty chemicals. The ladybugs didn't work (maybe they don't like onions either).

orionmystery · Post by **orionmystery** » Tue Mar 20, 2012 12:06 am

Nice capture...way too many aphids

Harold Gough · Post by **Harold Gough** » Tue Mar 20, 2012 12:27 am

Ken Ramos wrote:Every time I see a conglomeration of aphids like this, I always find myself picking over the photo to see if any are caught giving birth.

That biggest one, bottom centre seems to be doing just that.

So, that is Ken slightly happier, Rik slightly less so.

Harold

Harold Gough · Post by **Harold Gough** » Tue Mar 20, 2012 12:31 am

dbur wrote:Anyone know how to purge these things? I'd like to avoid nasty chemicals.

The traditional remedy is to spray with water containing Soft Soap. It used to be available from hardware stores but an organic gardening outlet should sell it.

Harold

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Tue Mar 20, 2012 1:27 am

Considering it was midnight and 38 degrees F when this picture was taken, I have to admire that delivering female.

I confess, my garage has a small jar of nasty chemicals reserved for dealing with this situation. But then again, I don't eat the roses!

--Rik