[Grubbypaws]

OK, I have a daily squishing program for the green fly on my peppers.

Initially they were to be found on the tiniest leaves and easy to find. Then I noticed that when I got near they were running for cover or dropping to the soil. Spooky but it has got more so.

When they realised that I had got them sussed they started hiding under the big leaves. I got that sussed so then they went to the top of the leaves........

Now they are hiding inside the flowers camouflaged by the green stamens 

[Amilo]

Intelligence is a comparative thing, now if you compare them with politicians, welllllll!

[Daamoot]

I've noticed some similar behaviour from the sneaky greenfly on my chilli plants.  First I only spotted the odd one or two in the higher leaves, a week later found some hiding in the flowers then last week I discovered a bunch of them covering the bottom seedling leaves.  All were removed and I've only seen the odd one here and there again since.

There's not been a noticeable amount of damage to any of the plants but does this mean I'll have to be vigilant and keep them in check throghout the summer?

[mumofstig]

yes, cos there are bound to be eggs/babies that you've missed.

They've found my Aubergines, and the little blighters have even taken on a pinkish tinge so they're well  camouflaged 

[Dopey113]

You need to sneak up behind them on tipy toes..... thats where you have been going wrong

[Dr_Pepper]

They are clever little blighters aren't they . If they're dropping off when disturbed, those ones could be potato aphids- they are clever enought to detect CO2 in hebivores' breath and drop off to escape being eaten with the rest of the leaf!. However one explanation for the apparent 'learning' could be that there are actually two species of aphid with different behaviour on each part of the plant.

Most common types on Capsicum are:
-peach-potato aphid (makes the plants sticky, can be red or green, likes the top of the plant and flowers),

-melon-cotton aphid (can be black or green, makes the plant REALLY sticky and forms huge dense colonies just about anywhere),

-glasshouse-potato aphid (long legs, pear-shaped, hides low down and injects a toxin when it feeds that makes the top leaves shrivel up),

-potato aphid (big, green with a stripe down it's back, found on all parts of the plant, jumps off the leaf if disturbed)

[Grubbypaws]

That is extremely good info, thank you.

The top leaves are shrivelling so I definately have glasshouse potoato aphid. Would this toxin be causing some of the fruit to drop off when tiny? 

I also have brown and green ones that like the tops and the flowers so that must be peach-potato aphid. Although since I have found and killed 2 ants they dont seem to be hiding in the flowers as much.

I definately also have some jumpers tho I havent seen a stripe.

May I enquire how you are so knowledgable about the subject?

[Dr_Pepper]

My chillies on the windowsill now have glasshouse potato aphid on them - they always seem to find a way in! Fruit abortion is probably down to low light levels rather than the pests, although it could be a contributory factor.
As to my specialist knowledge, this is my 'office' when I'm not allotmenting:

We get the odd aphid occasionally!

[Grubbypaws]

Somehow I dont think that my daily squishing programme would work for you!

[Plot74]

Dr pepper gives you wings 

[Daamoot]

That's one impressive office Dr P!!  Do you have an army of ladybirds to keep the aphids in check?

I found a small cluster of little aphids on a lower leaf of my cayenne pepper and I'm still finding the odd larger aphid up in the higher leaves/flowers and there are several higher leaves curling now.  The peppers are still growing well though so I don't think they're affecting the plants health too badly.



Edit: fix pic link

[Dr_Pepper]

Nice pic of the glasshouse potato aphid (also called the foxglove aphid, or Aulacorthum solani). You can recognise them from the two dark spots on their rear ends
Ladybirds aren't widely used commercially, they tend not to stick around unless you have a massive population of aphids. We tend to rely on various species of parasitic wasps, which lay their eggs inside the aphids (see the light brown swollen 'mummified' aphids in the pic below) and also a predatory midge larva called Aphidoletes (the red maggots in the pic). We also put quite a lot of hoverflies in too. Most people would probably be suprised how few pesticides most glasshouse growers use in the UK.

[azubah]

I've seen those mummified aphids before and never knew what they were. Thanks for letting us know.

[Daamoot]

That's very refreshing to hear Dr Pepper!  I'm guilty of assuming that any non-organic largescale grower would sooner throw chemicals at a pest problem rather than get natures assistance.  I'm pleased to stand corrected though!

Since my earlier post, my glasshouse potato aphids are getting a bit out of hand.  It seems I don't have enough time to focus on squishing them effectively so I've ordered some Aphidoletes. Are there any downsides to using them?  My plants are on the kitchen windowsil so is there a chance I'll have an outbreak of midge in my house?

How are you getting on with your daily squishing program Grubbypaws?  Hope you're keeping them in check!  :blink:

[Dr_Pepper]

Excellent work Daamoot - Aphidoletes are by far my favorite little critters! I hope they work for you.

They are most suited to dense colonies as the adults use the 'smell' of the honeydew excreted by the aphids to decide where to lay their eggs, so you have to let the aphid build up to almost uncomfortable levels if you want aphidoletes to work well.

It would be a good idea to mist your plants with water as aphidoletes prefer high humidity. I doubt the adult midges will cause too much of a problem

Keep us posted...