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Any insect of the family Aphididae (greenfly, plant lice) of the insect order Hemiptera. Aphids are small plant bugs that feed by sucking plant juices. Many species are pests in their own right, such as the blackfly (Aphis fabae) on broad beans. Other species are chiefly important as vectors of plant virus diseases, such as cucumber mosaic virus, which is transmitted by several species of aphid (including Aphis gossypii). Macrosiphum avenae and Rhopalosiphum species both transmit barley yellow dwarf virus of cereals and grasses.
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