Wedding Bells - infested

I am not sure what makes this particular part of the plant so attractive. Most of the plant is free from infestation.

Anyone care to ID the various bugs?

Rest of plant is unaffected.

If it were a hibiscus and I'm pretty sure I've seen bugs like it on them, I'd say hose them off. Or mix a 10 to 1 mixture of water to 1 pt. Murphy's Oil Soap. BUT this applies to these bugs on hibs. Don't know if this is ok for MGs. Would like to know also, though I don't have that prob..

They are aphids. Nice photos of them!

Use the hose using a strong diffuse stream so you don't damage the vine. That will knock them off and there is no pesticide used to control them. You will have to hose them maybe once a week to keep them at bay.

Joseph

You could also use your unwelcomed finger and slide it along the stem of the vine dislodging each and every one of the sap sucking freaks of nature. There is no resistance to such interventional activity!

Ugh, I prefer the strong diffuse stream of water. LOL They love soft, new growth. If you don't control them, they'll control your vine.

Ditto the above. To the ants they are like dairy cows. The aphids secrete a sugary syrup, the ants love. The ants will herd them etc. They are a very weak insect, but yet strong in distruction. I would suggest the hose and then put some hair mouse on the stems affected to control dessication. When the hair mouse dries, it might help prevent further moisture loss, and further infection of the already open wounds they have caused. Hose them off . Frank

You mean hair mousse??

Hair mousse? Really?! That's something I've never thought to try! Does that really work, Frank???? Inquiring minds want to know!

I'm bad, I use my fingers too, then finish them off with soap and water or hose them off...

Squish squish squish doesn't the hemolymph of the aphids stain your fingers? Or do you use latex gloves to protect?

If I have on gloves, then fine. But usually the stain comes right off my fingers with a little soap and water. I squish milkweed bugs too. They make a horrible pop sound with squished. Eeeewwwww ......

You could always do the method espoused by one of the cartoons drawn by Gary Larson (The Far Side) a while back, where a magnifying glass is used to fry them...too slow but no stains.

I had the same problem on my WB"S. I got tired of washing them off and switched to Malathion. I know.... bad stuff and stinky, but no more bugs! I hate them so much and they make sticky sap... yuck! Good luck with yours!

i have a terrible time with aphids on my angel trumpets.... grrr. i just hose them off and i have been using pyola which helps.

Yes girls, hair mousse. The intended use here is to seal up the punctures from the aphids, stop the introduction of an infection. This is all on a stem of flower buds, that will surely fall off due to dehydration. You could as well use liquid floor wax. We just want to rescue the remaining buds from dessication. Anything to seal up those puncture wounds so the buds won't fall off. This is not a life saving effort, just a stop gap to avoid infection and dessication.... You only need one female aphid, to get 100s of them. She reproduces exact clones of herself and doesn't need to breed. You can have one pregnant female aphid, and a week later gobs of them. Can you imagine going through labor on the hour. Any faster and she would be younger than her own offspring. This is why so many appear so suddenly. They are farmed and protected by ants. The ants like the sugar they secrete for them. Frank

Wow, Frank! That's amazing! I do get lots of aphids here, too! They seem to love my milkweed plants. Haven't seen any on my vines yet, but my black-eyed Susans also have them. Some aphids are yellow and some are darker brown. Nasty little buggers for sure!

The season of aphid outbreaks is a short one, about 3 to 4 weeks. Keep the hose handy. Frank

Not in Florida. It's year round. :-(