I can't believe we don't have a picture of this plant in our database featuring the nasty little oleander aphids that are such a common sight
Well, here one is! The 'prettiest' picture of aphids I could get
Cheers!

: thanks for being so accommodating! Great shot!

Mine is covered with these little creatures!

Well, you're not alone Betsy!

Thanks Suzanne--my pleasure

This is a great photo to have in the database! Seriously, I think we too often try to show our best sides in our photos, and I can't blame people, but this is very educational. True story, I had an older couple come by MOSI one day and they were telling me how they had planted milkweed for the Monarchs. Then, the lady asked me, "What do the eggs look like? Do they...move?" I knew she had aphids so I took her over to our milkweed and showed her some eggs and showed her the aphids and told her how they're just a part of having the plant. But I told her how we keep them from getting too bad by either blasting them with the hose or cutting the plant back. I think this picture will definitely help people understand that with milkweed, come aphids. And they're not doing anything wrong; that's just how it is. So thanks for showing us the not so pretty side of things!

I found these aphids covering my first planted milkweeds. After discovering what they were, an aphid not native to our area, I squished them. Yuck! But that year, I could not keep up with them and they ended up eating the plants to the ground. The Monarchs didn't find them that year, nor any of the other milkweed specific insects.

This year Swamp Milkweed came up in a new place and I planted dozens of Butterflyweeds. The Monarchs found them early on and most of the caterpillars were done before the aphids arrived. The aphids were much more manageable this year, so I was able to keep up. I was eager to collect seeds this year, so doubly wanted to make sure the plants would make it.

Howdy, y'all!
This is my first year to grow milkweed, the orange flowering kind, complete with matching aphids. I've read and enjoyed your comments about the "eww-gross!" photo and was thankful you shared your knowledge. I guess I'll try to water blast them.
My plant is in a container, but your suggestions state it's not really best suited for that. I'll try to find a location for planting it.
Thanks, again, everyone!
Ann