Black cherry aphid
Myzus cerasi
38 host plants
Last updated
Look for shiny black aphids and sticky honeydew coating cherry, apricot, and plum foliage and twigs in late spring and early summer. Infested leaves may curl; extensive sooty mold will coat areas, making sticky residue and mold more obvious than aphids themselves. Check new growth terminals beginning in May.
Spray infested foliage forcefully with water; repeat every few days as needed. Apply horticultural oil or insecticidal soap when temperatures stay below 85F. Encourage ladybird beetles, parasitoid wasps, and lacewings by avoiding broad-spectrum insecticides. If soap fails, neem oil or spinosad products provide additional options. Damage mostly cosmetic unless populations extremely dense.
Quick Reference
The black cherry aphid is a shiny, black, pear-shaped insect. Sweet cherry is the preferred host. The soft-bodied aphids feed in colonies on the tips of new growth, causing curling and distortion of the shoots and leaves. Injured leaves may turn brown and die back. The aphids overwinter on cherry as eggs, then young aphids feed on buds and leaves in the spring. Winged adults migrate to plants in the mustard family, which are the summer hosts of the aphids. Feeding aphids produce large amounts of honeydew, a sweet, sticky substance which may attract ants or become covered with a dark growth of
Cultural Controls
- is best undertaken early while the aphids are small and prior to leaf curl.
- Avoid broad-spectrum insecticide applications that would disrupt these biological controls.
- Home orchardists: Wash aphids from plants with a strong stream of water or by hand-wiping.
- Aphids are difficult to control once leaves begin to curl as insects are...