Aphids feed on phloem sap – a sweet fluid that flows through plants. It is a superb food source in many ways: high in sugar, low in toxins, largely untapped by other animals. But it’s also woefully deficient in several nutrients, including ten essential amino acids that animals need to survive. A shortfall of any one of these would be devastating. A deficit of all ten is intolerable – unless something else can compensate. There is now overwhelming evidence that Buchnera is that something.
