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The Aphids life cycle is as bazaar as it is brief. During the summer aphids clone and in the fall some of them develop into males to breed with females so they can lay eggs that will winterover successfully. Although there are over 4,400 species of aphids belonging to 10 families which all have unique elements in their life cycles, there are a few characteristics common to them all. Parthenogenesis plays a huge role in the propagation of the species during the warm weather but egg-laying is still part of the aphids life cycle in areas that have cold winters.
Aphids, also known as greenfly in Britain and plant lice in the United States, live all over the globe. They proliferate in warmer climates but have been seen feeding on turnip leaves after a 14 degree night so they are not just fair weather creatures. Temperature does play a key part in the aphids life cycle though. In the Spring when things begin to warm up, aphid eggs hatch, usually on woody plant or tree hosts, and winged females develop. When the winds are right the winged females fly, actually glide is a better term as their flight is non-directional, off to find the plant host they prefer. There, the female aphids give birth to live young replications of themselves. When winter cold starts creeping in some females become male and mate with the females to create eggs, which are then laid on a woody plant or tree that acts as the overwinter host. Since each aphids life cycle is approximately 20 to 40 days long everything occurs rather quickly in the aphids life cycle.
Of the 4,400 different species of aphids most follow the aphid life cycle described above with little variations. The reproduction system of giving birth to exact copies of themselves is called parthenogenesis. Strange as it may seem it is not all that uncommon among lower animals. Each mature aphid can give birth to 5 to 10 miniature's of itself per day. Huge colonies are created in this manner in a very short time. The nymph moves swiftly through 4 molts within 7 days and is ready to start producing live young within 10 days. In the course of a season, an estimated 41 generations will go through the aphids life cycle.
Parthenogenesis speeds up as the weather gets warmer and then declines when it gets to hot. Being able to replicate like they do, aphids establish large colonies on plants in a matter of days. The sap sucking critters sometimes drain all the life force out of the plant and it dies. When the food source begins failing some of the aphids will grow wings and move on in search of another favored plant and begin a new colony. In areas that don't have cold winters, there is no stage where certain females become male so a mating that produces eggs does not occur. In such areas, the replication process in the aphids life cycle from an original female can go on for several years.
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Author Bio Box: Patricia Wainwright
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