What are plant lice actually?
If you have plants at home or in the garden, you have probably noticed various bugs that sometimes appear on them. Although not all of them are dangerous to plants, some can cause serious damage, to the extent that even professional gardeners have trouble getting rid of them. If you want to learn more about how you can do this, read our text How to get rid of plant lice?
When we talk about plant lice, it is important to understand that it is not just one type of insect but a large family that counts over 3000 species.
What are plant lice?
Plant lice are small, most often flying insects, that can cause serious damage to plants. These insects belong to the family Aphididae and are characterized by feeding on plant juices and young shoots, which quickly leads to drying and dying of plants. Since they have a high reproductive potential, it is very important to control their spread or appearance in time.
How to recognize plant lice?
As anyone who has had problems with these pests knows, they are tiny insects that can be of various colors and sizes. In our regions, the most common are green insects, but you can also see those that are white, pink, brown, and black on plants.
These organisms are polyphagous, meaning they feed on and inhabit a large number of plant species. Although they can be found on different types of plants, there are some species that are characteristic of certain plant cultures, so it is common for them to be named after them. Thus, the most well-known ones in our area are apple, peach, and black root lice.
However, these insects do not only attack crops but can also be found on plants that live indoors. Houseplants usually get them through some new, infected plant or through insects like flies, which can bring plant lice larvae into your space.
Life cycle and behavior of plant lice
They reproduce very quickly, having up to 15 generations a year, depending on environmental conditions. Adult insects can be winged or wingless.
They quickly form colonies on attacked plants, usually on young plant parts where the circulation of plant juices is most intense, most often on the underside, i.e., the back of the leaf. That is why it is important to regularly check the leaves of your plants.
By sucking juices from the leaf and flower, they cause deformities of the attacked plant parts (leaf curling). Consequently, the growth of the plant can be halted, and they are also significant carriers of viruses in plants.
Leaf lice, for example, excrete a sweet sticky liquid called "honeydew," which causes the appearance of ants on one side and sooty mold on the other.
The natural predator of these lice is the ladybug.
What do plant lice feed on?
Interesting facts about plant lice:
- Mutualism (a type of symbiosis) is a relationship between two species, whose effect is always positive for individuals of both species.
- Plant lice feed on plant juices rich in water and sugars but poor in amino acids. Because of this, they ingest a large amount of plant juices to ensure a sufficient amount of protein.
- They excrete the excess water and sugar from their bodies through a pair of cornicles, organs located at the rear of the insect's body. Some species of ants have developed the ability to use this nutritious juice in their diet. In return, they actively protect plant lice from predators and parasites.
- There are cases where ants even move plant lice from one plant to another.
- Adult plant lice can have wings but do not have to.
- Not all plant pests are insects. Earthworms and snails can also cause significant problems.
How to control the appearance of plant lice?
There are many ways to solve the problem of plant lice, but the best approach is integrated management of this issue. This approach is based on the application of several principles such as prevention, monitoring, biological and mechanical control, and responsible use of pesticides and chemicals.
For chemical resolution of this problem, we recommend our product Fitoneopirox.
