In fact the aphids look worse. But wait, Look Closer
And Closer
Mummies and Parasitic Wasps. I returned to Arbico-Organics to confirm that what I had was finally a breakthrough. IT WAS! My first OFFICIAL BENEFICIAL. These guys are also really awesome. They are stingless wasps that lay an egg INSIDE of the aphid. That "mummy" in the second picture is actually a swollen aphid that has turned into a cocoon! A second wasp will be flying out of a hole in its belly some day soon. (Nature is SO gross)
I was also confirmed that the aphid infestation is bad, really bad. So I picked up bottle of Neem Oil to spray down some of this invasion. I have some mixed feelings about this move. I was told not to worry too much about harming my wasp-he has wings so he will fly away. Plus Neem is pretty natural stuff, in fact its the original tooth-stick . It will also work as a fungicide, one of the side effects of aphids sticking their little mouths where they don't belong, is the introduction of fungus into your healthy plants. So I will be using the spray but I will only be spraying the neem oil in a few of the MOST infested parts of the garden. Just enough to knock down the numbers and give these wasps a second to come through.
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