Aphid

Aphids are small insects about the size of a pin head. They drink sap from the stems of plants. Aphids can kill plants by sucking out all the plant sap with their sharp beaks.

When they are only a few days old, aphids start laying eggs. One aphid can lay thousands of eggs. Most of these eggs are eaten by other insects and birds. If this didn’t happen, the world would be filled with aphids.

Many kinds of ants take care of aphids. The ants drink a sweet juice that drips out of aphids. The juice is called honeydew. To get honeydew, ants “milk” aphids by patting their backs. In this way, ants are “farmer” and aphids are their “cows.”