Biology
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 sooty mold. The sooty mold can reduce fruit quality.
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