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Sticker of Vetch aphid
Bug card No. 4578 of 4,939

Vetch aphid

Megoura viciae
Eats: PlantsTrue bugs and cicadasGardens and meadows6 legs

The vetch aphid is a large green aphid with a round belly. Its head, legs and feelers are black, and its eyes are red. It sucks juice from vetch, peas and broad beans.

Lives in
Europe, from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean, and also Ethiopia and North America
Top speed
about 0.01 km/h (0.01 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless to people. It only bothers bean and pea plants.
What does it eat?
It sucks sap from vetch, peas and broad beans, and spends its whole life on these plants.
For real!Photo of Vetch aphid
Picture by S. Rae from Scotland, UK. CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

It has red eyes, which look bright against its green body.

2

Its eggs are laid at the bottom of the plant and hatch in spring. Later the mothers give birth to live babies, like most aphids.

3

After three generations, aphids with wings are born, and they fly off to find new plants.

4

In autumn the aphids move to the seed pods of the plant.

5

When it feeds, the leaf grows a swelling called a gall.

you asked

Most asked questions about Vetch aphid

?What does the vetch aphid eat?

It sucks sap from vetch, peas and broad beans.

?Does the vetch aphid have wings?

Some do and some do not. Winged aphids appear after a few generations and fly to new plants.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Megoura viciae
Named by
Buckton, 1876
Group
True bugs and cicadas
Family
Aphididae
Classification
Insecta > Hemiptera > Aphididae
Lives on
Europe, Africa, North America

Where the facts come from

  1. Megoura viciae (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by S. Rae from Scotland, UK. CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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