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Sticker of Oleander aphid
Bug card No. 0986 of 1,500

Oleander aphid

Aphis nerii
Eats: PlantsTrue bugs and cicadasGardens and meadows6 legs

The oleander aphid is a tiny bug that lives in groups on plants. It sits on stems and leaves and sucks out the plant juice. It mostly lives on oleander and milkweed plants.

Lives in
Warm parts of the world with tropical and Mediterranean weather, in gardens
Top speed
about 0.01 km/h (0.01 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless to people. It does not bite or sting, but it can harm plants.
What does it eat?
It sucks sap from plants, mostly oleander, milkweed and periwinkle.
For real!Photo of Oleander aphid
Picture by Rhododendrites. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

The mothers do not lay eggs. They give birth to live babies.

2

In the wild there are only females. They can have babies without any males.

3

Some have wings and some do not. The winged ones can fly to new plants.

4

It can carry viruses that make plants like cucumbers, melons and beans sick.

you asked

Most asked questions about Oleander aphid

?Are oleander aphids harmful?

Not to people. They can harm plants and spread plant viruses.

?What do oleander aphids eat?

Plant sap, mostly from oleander, milkweed and periwinkle.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Aphis nerii
Group
True bugs and cicadas
Family
Aphididae
Classification
Insecta > Hemiptera > Aphididae
Lives on
Europe, Africa, Asia, North America, South America, Australia and Oceania
Also known as
Milkweed aphid, Sweet pepper aphid, Nerium aphid

Where the facts come from

  1. Aphis nerii (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Rhododendrites. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at hello@bugwiki.app and we will fix it.

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