The year of the aphid

THESE SAP-SUCKING INSECTS ARE NOT AS BAD AS THEY SEEM, EXPERTS TELL HANNAH STEPHENSON

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THE RHS was right about an invasion of sap-sucking aphids thanks to a warm spring, if my garden is anything to go by.

In the past three weeks, I've seen wafts of greenfly smother the stems and buds of pretty flowering perennials and roses, while trademark trails of blackfly have appeared on my clematis.

Back in May, the RHS reported that the warm spring has encouraged rapid and early colony growth, with many aphids to be found now on acers, roses and honeysuckle. In addition, some previously glasshouse-bound species are now thought to be venturing into beds and borders and finding new plant hosts to feed on.

"This is the time of year when you'd expect to see more aphids. Aphids will overwinter or there will be eggs which will hatch out and then populations build up," says Dr Stephanie Bird, RHS senior plant health scientist.

While last year, the slug population exploded in the warm, wet weather, 2025 is the year of the aphid, the RHS has reported, and the number of inquiries it has received up to May about these tiny sap-sucking insects has risen.

"A lot of the aphids we have on our garden plants will have a different summer host that they'll start moving to, and this is the point in the year when predators haven't actually started controlling populations," says Dr Stephanie.