Comments on: Wooly Aphids

By: K T Cat

K T Cat — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 13:49:21 +0000

I’ve got two words for you: AphidWax Chapstick.

By: Ellen

Ellen — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:14:55 +0000

Maybe you could call it WoollyWax?

I remember when I first encountered these blue-ish flying fuzzballs, drifting about the autumn air. It took me three years to finally track down what they were, and now it seems like information about them is everywhere!

Nature never ceases to fascinate.

By: Tim Eisele

Tim Eisele — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:25:03 +0000

You know, it occurs to me that the wax filaments from the various plant-sucking aphid-like pests might actually have economic value if they were intentionally cultivated. It would probably have properties similar to beeswax, which a cursory look around shows to be selling for around a dollar an ounce. I wonder if (a) it would be practical to collect it efficiently enough to process and sell, and (b) whether anybody would buy it? It might need a pretty extensive media campaign to convince people that “aphidwax” is equal or superior to beeswax, but maybe it could be done.

By: K T Cat

K T Cat — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 19:34:18 +0000

I think there’s a species of scale that is similarly “wooly.” The little swine attacked an indoor fiddle leaf fig at my old house. The only way I could control them was by using rubbing alchohol and a cloth. The systemic poisons were worthless.

Got it – it was cottony scale.