Aphids often get a bad rap. These minute insects are now considered to be members of the Bug family Hemiptera—when I was first learning classification schemes, aphids were given their own order, Homoptera, but DNA analysis changed biological thinking about where these creatures belonged in the Tree of Life. That said, wherever you find them they can cause trouble, particularly for gardeners and farmers, because, as members of the Hemiptera, they have sucking mouthparts and they often suck the life out of plants. Because many of these creatures can reproduce asexually... and with reckless abandon... their populations can be huge, overwhelming the ability of predators—the most famous of which is the Ladybug—and pathogens to control them. Aphids can also travel easily from place to place, even country to country, spreading mayhem and plant infections. Still, they can also be quite pretty, as is the case with these Oleander Aphids, which, every autumn, light up the pods of Swamp Milkweed and other Milkweed species. Aphis nerii is probably a native of the Mediterranean regions where its host plant, Oleander, lives; clearly it doesn't mind a change in its diet and is quite happy in our meadows.