One in a million

For many species, including wasps, lacewings and small birds, aphids are the bread and butter of survival; nutritious, defenceless and plentiful. Jack Edmonds takes a closer look at their amazing lifecycle

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Aphids are so common in the garden, and so annoying to the gardener, that it's easy to think of them as simple creatures: walking plankton who appear from nowhere to chow down on your favourite plants (and aphids will attach themselves to almost anything). But nothing in nature is as it seems.

The UK is home to more than 500 species of aphid, many of whom are specialists, focusing on a single, pair, or select group of species. Some of the most commonly encountered aphids are migratory; overwintering as eggs on a tree or woody shrub, emerging in time to feast on the fresh young growth in spring, before moving on to a herbaceous plant in summer.

These aphids are usually named for the species they predate the pear-bedstraw aphid, bird cherry-oat aphid, damson-hop aphid and peach-potato aphid are some of the most common in the UK. The peach-potato aphid's name doesn't really do it justice: in summer it will utilise a wide array of garden crops including peas and brassicas, lettuces, squashes and chillies, as well as peaches and potatoes.

Fphids are, in essence, born to be prey, so their survival strategy is very simple: have as many children as you possibly can, and hope a few survive to adulthood. Quick breeding is so essential to the survival of the aphid that many species have almost done away with sexual reproduction altogether. The vast majority of aphids are clones of their mother, who can reproduce asexually.