APHIDS - these come in a variety of colours : greenfly, blackfly, whitefly or gall aphid. They colonise plants and suck the sap from the stems, leaves and fruit.

The first indication of an infestation is the curling and distortion of leaves. The woolly aphid can be a serious problem on pine, larch and beech, manifesting itself as a white, fluffy, sticky mass.

The gall aphid can result in development of galls on leaves.

In all cases the application of a systemic insecticide should be sufficient to deal with the problem.