Nature's Archive #125: The Plankton of the Land: The Alien World of Aphids with Natalie Hernandez
Imagine a creature that is born already pregnant with its own grandchildren. No mating, no waiting—just a continuous, telescopic unfolding of life. It sounds like something out of a sci-fi novel, but it’s likely happening on the underside of a leaf in your backyard. Today, we’re looking past the 'pest' label to discover the mind-bending biology of the aphid.
Our guest today is aphidologist Natalie Hernandez. If you are on iNaturalist, you might recognize her as one of the most prolific identifiers of aphids.
Today we learn about these incredible insects, including why ants tend to aphids like livestock, how telescopic reproduction works, and we investigate why aphids are incredibly important to ecosystems. While a few aphid species can be pests to agriculture, most are critical parts of the food web.
I’ve grown to love finding new aphid species when I’m out exploring, and I hope today’s episode will help inspire you to look under a few more leaves this spring and summer.
Find Natalie on iNaturalist and instagram!
LINKS
Aphids on the World's Plants - excellent online resource for identifying aphids
Thanks to Brook Neely for editing this episode.
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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.com
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Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!