Aphids and ants: pay attention to the health of your plants!

2024-08-20 Gallura Disinfestazioni posted:

Aphids, commonly called Plant Lice, and Ants, social insects that live in large colonies, have over the course of evolution established a true mutualistic symbiosis, which in many ways is similar to the breeding of domestic animals by humans.

This symbiosis between aphids and ants is mainly determined by the behavioral characteristics and diet of these two insects and results in the plants becoming ill.

In fact, aphids feed on the sap of plants through their piercing-sucking mouthparts and at the same time release two types of saliva into the plant tissues: one containing coagulating substances that isolate the mouth stylets from the plants and the other, rich in enzymes, among which there is a hormone that stimulates the growth of green tissues, thus inducing the formation of hyperplasia (galls and pseudogalls) that serve to protect the colonies and provide nourishment.

The sap that Aphids feed on is very rich in sugars, the surplus is expelled in the form of honeydew, thus staining the plants with sugary drops, a source of food for many insects, such as ants.

In fact, aphids provide the honeydew that ants are very fond of and these in exchange transport the various individuals on tender shoots and defend them from predators, even if many species of aphids are able to defend themselves. Aphids, in addition to causing direct damage by removing the sap and emitting saliva that causes physiological alterations, produce serious indirect damage as they are capable of transmitting many viruses by feeding on infected plants first and then moving on to healthy ones.

Taking care of the plants and lawn of our garden means acting with adequate maintenance of the same in order to defend them from these plant parasites.

Because of this close relationship between aphids and ants, it is almost always possible to find both pests in the same site and it is therefore necessary to intervene in a targeted manner on both pests and work in a preventive manner to avoid their future proliferation. It will therefore be necessary to intervene with targeted disinfestation interventions to eliminate ants and green defense interventions to eliminate aphids.

After having carried out a careful analysis of the infested plants, the technicians of Gallura Disinfestazioni will plan the most suitable control and/or prevention plan to protect the health of the plants.