Verdia · Library
Aphid observations
Record aphid colonies, cast skins and sticky residue, and see how Verdia routes names such as Myzus or Aphis to its aphid group of 24 genera.
How a result reaches the aphid group
Verdia's health check sends one photo to the Pl@ntNet disease service and reads the scientific name of the top result. The app lowercases that name, takes its first word and looks it up in a fixed genus list. For aphids the list has 24 genera, among them Aphis, Myzus, Macrosiphum, Brevicoryne, Eriosoma, Cinara and Uroleucon, plus the related Adelges, Phylloxera and Daktulosphaira. If no genus matches, the words aphididae and aphidoidea are searched anywhere in the name.
Steps appear only when the top result scores at least 30 percent. Between 10 and 30 percent the app says it is not sure and lists possibilities without steps, and any other candidate is listed only from 3 percent upward.
What to record before acting
- Photograph a young shoot tip and the underside of an affected leaf at close range.
- Note whether you see a colony, pale cast skins or sticky residue, and on which plant part.
- Write down the date and how many shoots are involved, so a later check can show a change.
- Look again under the same leaves a few days later, which is also the app's third aphid step.
Reading one aphid result
Suppose the top result is Myzus persicae at 42 percent. The first word, myzus, is in the aphid genus list, so the app shows the aphid steps under its What to do heading. This page repeats two of the three: washing the insects off with a strong spray of water and checking under the leaves again in a few days. The remaining app step names a specific product and is held back here.
- Name returned
- Myzus persicae
- Top score
- 42%
- Rule that matched
- genus myzus
- Aphid steps shown here
- 2 of 3
If the same name came back at 22 percent, no steps would be shown at all.
Mistakes to avoid
- Treating every green insect on a shoot as an aphid before looking at it closely.
- Spraying a plant because the label appeared, when the RHS notes that aphids are also food for other wildlife.
- Ignoring a below-threshold result's other possibilities, which may fit the plant better.
- Washing a plant whose leaves or location do not suit a strong spray.
Where this record stops
A genus match only says which group of general steps the app uses; it does not confirm the insect or the need for control. The RHS aphid page and the University of Minnesota Extension guide to indoor plant insects listed below describe the insects themselves, and the ASPCA list is the place to check a plant's pet safety.