CalevPhoto

Aphids in the wild

During the summer, pretty much whenever I want to find aphids I can find them.  They are always on our rose bushes and I use no insecticides to get rid of them.  When I find a ladybug in the yard, I move it to the rose bushes to trim the aphids a bit – though I haven’t found a ladybug yet this year.  It is tempting to buy them in the store but I have read that these are not native ladybugs and will therefore just fly away and provide little benefit to the garden.

Still, it was a welcome sight to find some aphids in the wild this weekend while shooting near some ponds that are next to the building where I work.

Continue Reading…

Who said aphids can’t be funny?

I must admit that among the more hilarious pictures in the world, insects are rarely mentioned.  However, once in awhile I do find a rather amusing shot and more often than not it occurs with aphids.  I do not believe that aphids consider themselves to be amusing, but once in awhile I catch an aphid in a pose that does look a bit strange.

Although aphids stay rather still for most shots, they are not one of the easier insects to photograph.  For one, they are extremely small and often require a magnification of 5x for a good shot.  This means that the viewfinder is extremely dark and the lens is shaky.  The also do move, so tracking can be slightly tricky at times.

Here is an aphid family portrait.

Amazingly, an adult ladybug can eat up to sixty of these a day!  I am currently looking for some lady bugs, as Nelya prefers that the aphids stay away from her roses, but I won’t let her use insecticides on them.

While they certainly aren’t a beneficial insect, they do provide some amusement!

The adventures of Alfred the aphid

One day while photographing a lady bug laying havoc to a colony of aphids on a rose, I came across the bravest (or perhaps the smartest) aphid I have ever had the chance of meeting. While I tend not to name insects, I have decided to give this one the name of Alfred. While many of Alfred’s friends perished that day, Alfred found a way to escape the jaws of the lady bug. I’m not sure how Alfred came across this. Perhaps his initial inclination was to take a joy ride, but in the end he survived when so many others perished. Here is a photo of where Alfred chose to ‘hide’.

Here Alfred sits on top of the lady bug as it hurried through, gobbling as many of Alfred’s relatives as it can. Unfortunately, Alfred’s best friend Zed was not so lucky.

Here’s a shot of Alfred watching the carnage.

Now it happens that Alfred is one cool aphid – and what cooler thing can an aphid do than lady bug surfing!

Yes, Alfred is truly one daring aphid. You have to hand it to him, even though officially he’s still a pest….