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Wingless mint aphids, Ovatus crataegarius,
are yellow-green to apple-green, mottled with darker green markings. These small
soft-bodied aphids range in size from 1.5 to 2 mm long and occur in colonies on mint
leaves. The winged forms have dark brown to black heads and thorax areas with yellow-green
abdomens. Winged forms are most common in the spring and fall.
Mint aphids overwinter around the bases of mint plants, on mint roots, beneath plant
debris, and in cracks and crevices in the soil. Females give birth to mobile nymphs in the
spring. They suck sap from stems and undersides of leaves. Rates of development and
population densities increase with temperature. During the summer and early fall, a
generation may be completed in 7 to 10 days and as many as 12 to 15 generations may be
produced each year.
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