Red Aphids on Heliopsis

20 years ago

Don't you love it when the books are right?

The Well Tended Perennial Garden says that Red Aphids attack Heliopsis in May, and boy howdy, do they ever! I have two big stands of 3 different kinds of Heliopsis that were winter sown last year. They look like they've been decorated for Christmas, with huge populations of bright red Aphids.

I hit 'em with insecticidal soap last night, and washed the corpses (and more than a few live ones) off with a blast of the hose today. The book also says they don't do much damage to the plants, so I'm not too worried about it. I'm going to cut them back by half this week, but I think I'll wait a few days to get the Aphid count back up (they seem to congregate at the tops of the plants), so I can kill 2 birds with one stone.

A bright side to this is the Lady Bugs they've attracted. I didn't spray the plants where they were chowing down.

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Comments (5)

naturedar
20 years ago
So glad you posted your "solution" on getting rid of aphids on heliopsis (by using your "solution"--heh heh, get it?). It's June now, and we're getting them just as bad here now in Minnesota. I'm going to follow your advice, including the info about the Lady Bugs, besides passing it on to all the neighbors. Thanks for the help!!!! Darlene
bcboisclair_xplornet_ca
15 years ago
I also had trouble with red aphids last year, I tried insecticidle soap as well and it did nothing. I finally had to cut them down to the ground.

Any other suggestions would be great. They didn't seem to want any of my other perenials, jus the heliopsis.
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cnozzoli_rogers_com
15 years ago
I tackle the red aphids when I see them by crushing them with my fingers, It's easy to do since they line up so neatly on the stem, and I can usually employ a leaf to save the stain getting on my fingers! My question is: what is the red colour due to?
Darleen Chase
11 years ago
I just sprayed mine with peppermint soap and water.
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
The red color comes from the heliopsis and the carotenoid pigments that they produce. Aphids process the pigments from the phloem and it is expressed as red in the aphids in certain cells close to the surface.

Read the paragraph on Carotenoid synthesis for a brief explanation.