Buggies

[Jennywrenny]

Hi everyone

My dad, Nettle Runner, spotted these little bugs in our garden today. They were crawling across a piece of chipboard floorboard that I was using as a table for photographing a beetle and spider that we had also found.

They were tiny little things only about 3 mm.



Any ideas what they are?

Thanks,

Jenny

[Deer Stalker]

I would say Aphids.

[Jennywrenny]

That's what we wondered, Deer Stalker.

I have uploaded a couple more pictures to maybe help with ID:-

This one is upside down - you can see it is sticking it's 'tongue' out?



And here it is on its side - you can see the 'tongue' tucked under its body..



Do aphids have these 'tongues'?

Jenny

[Deer Stalker]

Yep, they are Hemiptera (bugs) which have a toungue like a little hypodermic needle called a rostrum.

[Jennywrenny]

You learn something everyday - thanks Deer Stalker

[Laurence Clemons]

I have seen similar aphids on willows before but have never bothered to identify them. Do you, by any chance have weeping willow in the garden?

[Paul mabbott]

Originally Posted by Laurence Clemons

I have seen similar aphids on willows before but have never bothered to identify them. Do you, by any chance have weeping willow in the garden?

Willows have three or four quite distinctive aphids species including the largest British aphid: Aphid watch - Natural History Museum
.... and the black willow aphid with its distinctive red patches!
Miss T Collins

Might this one be early stages of Tuberolachnus salignus?

[Nettle Runner]

All three of these aphids had two 'tubicles' on their backs, not the single thorn like process as in T. salignus (which are reported to disappear after Feb / March for 5 months).
These tubicles can clearly be seen in the above images, projecting from the side towards the rear of the back.
Les

[Paul mabbott]

Well, yes and no! These have the two hind lateral tubercles - it could be that the central, big one, only appears on the most mature ones? Aphids can be confusing ( ) because they appear in various sizes, winged or wingless, and in different shapes with patterns and morphology changing as they grow .... not easy, I'd like to know more ...

Originally Posted by Nettle Runner

All three of these aphids had two 'tubicles' on their backs, not the single thorn like process as in T. salignus (which are reported to disappear after Feb / March for 5 months).
These tubicles can clearly be seen in the above images, projecting from the side towards the rear of the back.
Les

[Paul mabbott]

Belated information. At the time Imaginos sent me the following comment - I forgot to post it,

The aphids in question are probably one of the many Cinara species which are mainly conifer aphids. The 'tubercles' on the sides are actually their cornicles (as in T. salignus, these are much more reduced than the more familiar species) the long, sharp rostrum (seen in post 3) and the shortish antennae are good identifiers for this Genus. At the insect survey we only identify Cinara to Genus due to the difficulty of getting them to species even under the microscope.