Who are these lint-like white and blue floating fuzzies?
Woolly aphids are on the move! From spring through early fall, woolly aphids are wingless, sucking sap beneath the cover of their “wool.” The “wool” is waxy white strands that make the aphids look more like mold and less appealing to predators. The females produce asexually (parthenogenesis), giving live birth to female aphids.
No males make up the woolly aphid community until decreasing day length at this autumnal time of year signals the females to produce a winged generation of males and females. This adds genetic diversity to the aphid population and also allows the females to switch to laying winter-hardy eggs. Another all-female generation of woolly aphids will hatch in the spring and continue the cycle.