Sidewalk Greenspace on New York's Upper West Side
These bright-yellow oleander aphids are growing fat and plentiful on the sap of a dogbane plant. In agricultural settings, aphids are almost universally viewed as a pest, but I’m pleased to see them here in our tiny habitat, because I know they’re a favorite food for ladybugs and other insectivores whose numbers will be growing in the coming weeks.
Another reason I like burdock is that it supports a lot of insects. A week ago, I noticed that seemingly overnight, the undersides of the flower clusters had been swarmed by hundreds of aphids. I pulled out the hose and blasted a bunch of them off with a few quick squirts, but that only thins them out, it never gets ’em all, so I was very pleased to find a couple of ladybugs crawling around on it the next day. Although they’re cute, I know they’re fiends for aphids.
And even better, by the end of the week I was seeing ladybug larvae crawling around, clearing out the lingering aphids. A few days later, I can no longer find any aphids at all.
