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This leaflet is produced by the Ministry of Agriculture & Livestock, Solomon Islands, with support from IPPSI: 

Improved 

Plant Protection in Solomon Islands, a project financed by ACIAR, the Australian Centre for International Agricultural 
Research, Canberra. Authors: Helen Tsatsia, MAL & Grahame Jackson, TerraCircle Inc. 

Farmer Fact Sheet 38:

 Aphids 

 

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

What are they? 

 

Aphids are often called Green fly. They have needle-like mouthparts and suck the juices from 
leaves and stems. Many kinds of aphids occur on many different plants; here is the Cotton or 
Melon aphid, also common on taro and cucumbers. 

Adults give birth to 4-6 live young a day. 

 

 

What damage do they do? 

 

Aphids cause several problems: a) feeding damage – new leaves are small and twisted, or 
they wilt, dry up and die early; b) leaves turn black, covered by sooty mould fungi growing 
on ‘honeydew’, the waste juices from aphids; c) spread diseases caused by viruses. 

 

How do I identify them? 

 

Look for groups of green insects on the underside of young leaves, on shoots and buds. They 
are about 1 mm long, bright green to nearly black, with two tubes at the rear. Some have 
wings, up to 2 mm. Look for ants; they come for the honeydew. 

 

How do I manage aphids? 

 

Many insects feed on aphids, such as ladybeetles and lacewings. Tiny wasps lay their eggs in 
the aphids. Ants protect the aphids from natural enemies. 

 

Cultural control: 

•  Remove weeds from within and around the crop; aphids breeds on many kinds of weeds; 

•  Burn or bury the remains of crops after harvest; 

•  DO NOT plant down-wind from crops with aphids; 

•  Mulch the crop; this makes it more difficult for the aphids to find the crop plants. 
Chemical control: 

•  If insecticides are necessary, use soap sprays; or use synthetic pyrethroids (for example, 

lambda cyhalothrin). READ INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE USE.