Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Aphis lutescens Monell in Riley & Monell, 1879
Explanation of Names
Latin for "of Nerium". Nerium is the Latin name for oleander.
Identification
Yellow-orange aphids with black spines, common on milkweed, oleander.
Range
Cosmopolitan, originally from Mediterranean region.
Food
Feed on the sap of plants in the dogbane family, Apocynaceae, including milkweeds (formerly in their own family, the Asclepiadaceae).
Best-known hosts: Oleander, Milkweed, and Vinca.
Life Cycle
Males are apparently absent from North American populations--reproduction is by parthenogenesis. Sometimes attended by ants? (References are contradictory.)
Remarks
Like the Monarch and related butterflies, these aphids pick up deadly cardiac glucosides from the host plant and deposit them in their bodies. The noxious chemicals also become part of their cornicle secretions (exuded from the tubes on the rear end). Their bright orange color serves as a warning to predators- at best they taste awful, at worst they can kill.
Larvae of lacewings and lady beetles that feed on Aphis nerii may have developmental problems during pupation, and either emerge with deformities (especially of the wings), or fail to emerge at all.
Print References
Cranshaw, p. 306, p. 309 fig. B
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