Critter: Woolly aphid

Who can bring fear to the hearts and minds of gardeners everywhere? That would be me, woolly aphid.

Family: Eriosomatidae

I'm a small, soft insect: I have a plump, pear-shaped body and two tubes that project like exhaust pipes from my abdomen.

Home is where the sap is: We live in colonies found on young leaves, twigs and branches. We feed and reproduce in spring and early summer, then produce winged young that migrate to start new colonies.

I know things look bad: Sometimes our appetites cause leaves to curl and deform. We feed by inserting needlelike mouth parts into plants to withdraw sap. We turn the sap into a sweet, sticky product called honeydew. Ants, bees and wasps gather honeydew for food. A unsightly black fungus called sooty mold can grow on honeydew.