Aphid

insects · garden pests · super reproducers

Suck plant juice. Aphids poke tiny holes in plant stems and leaves to drink the sap inside, like millions of microscopic vampires feasting on your garden.

Babies have babies. Female aphids can give birth to baby females who are already pregnant themselves, creating generations that overlap in a wild reproductive chain called telescoping generations.

Multiply super fast. Aphids grow up quickly and have babies constantly, so their numbers can explode from just a few insects into thousands in just weeks.

Grow wings later. As seasons change, some aphids develop wings so they can fly to new plants and start fresh colonies far away from their current home.

Survive winter. In cold places, aphids switch to making babies the old-fashioned way with males in autumn, then their eggs freeze safely through winter until spring arrives.