Aphis lugentis has invaded NZ

Look out for the senecio aphid Aphis lugentis. It's from North America & was detected in Australia in 2020 then in NZ in April 2023 (on #iNaturalist). It's big and black.

It eats on senecios which incl. exotic groundsels but also threatened endemic NZ species.

Yesterday I found senecio aphids on two plants in central Ōtautahi-Christchurch. So far I'm the only one to have recorded these from the South Island. There must be more out there.

#insects #aphids #biosecurity

https://inaturalist.nz/observations/205154304

The parasitoid (an organism that has young that develop on or within another organism (the host), eventually killing it) pictured here is Aphid Mummy Wasp.

predator nematodes

heard of nematoden?

they might save your plant some day.

http://e-nema.de/

good nematode

looks like a goodie.

the pink one

nicer than

the yellow (cruelly thin and the colour of bad chemistry)

  which it is about to take a bite of?

bad spider mite

they suck life out of the host

their webbings can end up in cannabis flowers as drammatically as this:

more specifics

would be eaten by nematoden