Who eats aphids
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- Aphids eating predators
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- Birds eat aphids
Aphid - small green or brown insects that settle on the underside of the leaves of various vegetable crops, shrubs, flowers and trees. With the help of their proboscis, they suck the juice from the shoots, flowers and ovaries, causing them harm. Therefore, gardeners all spring and summer are making every effort to combat parasites. But the enemies of these pests are not only people, so the story of who eats aphids will be of interest to all nature lovers and gardeners.
Predator Insects
In nature, there are natural enemies of aphids, predatory insects and birds, for which it represents the diet. They can help people in the fight against such insects.
The main lover of delicious aphids - ladybug and its larvae. Therefore, they are pests in the garden plot. According to scientists, one beetle is able to eat 50 aphids or its eggs per day.
Small larvae destroy small parasites especially quickly. ladybugs, which in appearance do not look like adults. They are gray-black in color and more flat, have red-yellow spots on the sides, larger than their parents. Since they are still growing, they need to eat well. Each young individual that feeds on aphids is able to absorb 70-100 units per day, which brings great benefits to the garden.
Interesting!
Observations of biologists show that during the attack of the ladybirds, the whole colony of pests falls into a panic, an active movement begins, a lot of winged individuals appear, who are thus saved from the attack of a predator.
In addition to colorful beetles, aphids form the basis of the diet for golden-eyed and sandy wasps, which can eat 100-150 individuals per day.
Of the insects, the aphids also eat those species for which it is food only when they meet: earwigs, cicadas, crickets, hoverflies, ground beetles and several species of spiders.
Important!
These types of insects bring great benefits to the garden, so before you apply insecticides, gardeners should consider that they will destroy not only pests, but also those who benefit.
Why predators eat aphids
An insect eats an aphid because it is a nourishing and nutritious product for them, which also releases glucose. Ants love the sweet juice, but they do not eat aphids, but contribute to its reproduction and resettlement in neighboring plants.
Aphids reproduce very quickly and live in colonies, which facilitates access to a large amount of food for predators.
Birds are enemies of aphids
In addition to insects, there are birds that eat aphids and use it to feed their chicks. These are sparrows, tits, chiffs, etc.
To combat garden pests of beneficial insects and birds, it is necessary to attract them to the garden plot. Dodgers, parsley and other sharp-smelling plants are sown for hotshots; for earwigs, a pot of wood chips in which they will hide will be placed next to the affected plants. Birdhouses, feeders and drinkers are made for birds, attracting them to the garden plot to fight off harmful insects.
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