Identification
The adult is pale bluish green and has a white, powdery coating that makes it look gray to light green.(1) Some individuals in the colony may be pink.
Food
Apricot, peach, plum, reed grasses and cattails.
Feeds on
Phragmites communis in the warm season and some
Prunus species during the winter.
(1)Life Cycle
The aphids overwinter in the egg stage near the base of flower buds. They hatch when the buds bloom. The adults will remain wingless for 3-13 generations before winged adults appear during warmer weather in June/July. The winged adults will move to reed grasses or cattails, while the wingless adults will remain on the fruit tree. The winged adults return to the fruit trees in the fall to lay eggs which will overwinter. (2)
Remarks
Non native, introduced from the Mediterranean region around 1879.