May says that must be the kind she has.
Let us see. Yes, May's aphids produce the white powder instead of honey dew.
That is their way of getting rid of the waste matter.
May says she is glad to know that; she thought her aphids had something the matter with them. They seemed to be falling to pieces.
No, May, they are not falling to pieces; that powder can all be rubbed off, and there are your aphids whole and sound beneath it.
Do you know that some species of your funny little tree hoppers secrete honey dew also, and even have ants to attend them? See if you can find some of these this summer.
Sometimes aphids live on the roots of plants as well as on the leaves.
Yes, indeed, May, they are very destructive insects. We have to spray our house plants to get rid of them, and often our garden flowers as well, and they do a great deal of damage to fruits and vegetables, and one of them, the phylloxera, has nearly destroyed the vineyards of France. It lives on the leaves of some species of grapes and on the roots of others. We have to be very careful about getting grape vines from Europe to plant in this country on account of the phylloxera.
What have you found now, John? Ah, yes, an alder branch, with a white, cottony substance on it. You have been poking into it with a little stick, and you think there are insects beneath it.