The oleander aphid is tiny, but very interesting. They are primarily found on oleander and various types of milkweed, like the apple of sodom. Although they live all over the world today, they probably came from the Mediterranean and spread with the oleander plant. As far as we know, the species is parthenogenetic, and all of these aphids are females. They’re also viviparous, so instead of laying eggs, they give birth to nymphs (immature aphids). Adults may or may not have wings, and often the trigger to develop wings is overcrowding on the host plant. In this situation adults will develop wings in order to travel and find new host plants.
In this photo, the healthy oleander aphids are yellow, and the ones that are purple have been parasitized by a tiny wasp. The wasp lays eggs inside the host aphid and the wasp larva feeds on the aphid.
