soybean aphids
awild | September 21, 2009
A student at the University of Illinois navigates an aphid swarm between classes.
We've had plenty of traffic here at the Myrmecos Blog as bewildered midwesterners look for answers about the swarm of tiny insects that has descended on our cities this week. As best as we can tell, here's the scoop.
Q: What are the annoying little bugs that are swarming Central Illinois this week?
A: They are soybean aphids (Aphis glycines). These small insects feed in summer on soybeans, overwinter as eggs on buckthorn (Rhamnus spp.), and feed in spring on Buckthorn before flying back to soy.
A soybean…