Aphid wax. Plant stem and leaves coated in woolly secretions of wax, produced by the Woolly aphid Eriosoma lanigerum. Aphids suck the sap of plants wh

---

Aphid wax. Plant stem and leaves coated in woolly secretions of wax, produced by the Woolly aphid Eriosoma lanigerum. Aphids suck the sap of plants which is very rich in sugar. The carbohydrates in this sugar are surplus energy to the aphid, and in some aphid species this is converted to wax. In Eriosoma lanigerum their waxy secretions resemble cotton wool deposited on plants, as seen here. Other aphid species pass excess sugar out of the body in a fluid excrement called honeydew.

---

Size: 3918px × 2646px
Photo credit: © CLAUDE NURIDSANY & MARIE PERENNOU/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: animal, aphid, eriosoma, honeydew, insect, insecta, invertebrate, invertebrates, lanigerum, nature, secretion, secretions, wax, wax-secreting, wildlife, woolly, zoology