Insects Preying on Aphids

     One day toward the end of May of this year, I noticed thousands of tiny, yellow aphids on the soft, juicy stems of our two rose-of-Sharon bushes.  Close to a week later, early in June, I saw those aphids again on the rose-of-Sharons, plus a few other kinds of insects that prey on aphids, including ladybug beetle larvae, long-legged flies and a kind of small ants.  And there were several  white eggs of eastern green lacewings, each egg suspended by its own thin web from rose-of-Sharon leaves.  After the larvae of the lacewings hatch from their eggs, they will feed on aphids, and so will the adults of that species.    
     Aphids are tiny creatures that suck sap from tender parts of vegetation.  Hordes of them can cause damage to vegetation because of their tremendous numbers that sometimes cover the plants almost from "wall to wall".  But those same overwhelming aphid gatherings are an abundant source of food to these insect predators and other kinds of creatures, including certain kinds of small birds.
     Ladybug larvae are flat, a quarter inch long and dark with orange markings.  The adults of most species of ladybugs have red wing covers spotted with black, which makes those insects quite attractive.  Immature and adult ladybugs both grab the soft-bodied aphids, one at a time, and suck the juices from them, discarding the empty exoskeletons.  Interestingly, swarms of ladybugs hibernate together in sheltered places, including behind tree bark still on the trees, fallen leaves on the ground and in crevices between rocks, through winter. 
     Some orchardists and other people buy ladybug beetles to release into fields and gardens.  There the ladybugs clean up the seemingly innumerable aphids.
     Adult long-legged flies do have long legs for their small body size and are metallic-green, often looking like tiny, sparkling drops of rain on green plants.  These tiny flies are quick to fly from leaf to leaf in vegetation and also ingest the juices from aphids.   
     The young and adult eastern green lacewings have light-green bodies, which camouflages them in foliage.  Adults have lovely golden eyes and four attractive, clear wings, each wing decorated with prominent veining that gives them their name lacewings.  The larvae and the half-inch-long adults of this species, too, prey on the diminutive aphids.   
     Certain kinds of ants prey on aphids, too, but don't kill them in the process.  As stated, aphids suck sugary sap from plants.  And they excrete a sugary waste substance from their bodies that we call "honey dew".  Some types of ants love to consume that nutritious honey dew and lick it off the aphids.  Some kinds of ants protect aphids from certain small predators as payment for the honey dew the ants ingested.   
     There is no end to the activities of nature, even at one's own doorstep.  Keep watching for nature, wherever you may be.