Born Pregnant: Aphids Invade with an Onslaught of Clones | Deep Look

Female aphids are the matriarchs of a successful family operation— taking over your garden. But don’t lose hope; these pests have some serious predators and creepy parasites looking to take them down. SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! Please join our community on Patreon! DEEP LOOK is an ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- Aphids are one of gardeners’ most hated pests. They’re incredibly prolific, seemingly popping up overnight to take down your favorite veggies. “Aphids are just experts at reproducing,“ said Ian Grettenberger an entomologist at the University of California, Davis. “Given the right conditions, they can multiply really quickly and get out of control. For most of the year female aphids giving live birth to clones that are themselves already pregnant. That means t