Common or Alien?

As the saying goes.

I actually gave myself the luxury of a couple of minutes to blip hunt before I left for work this morning. With my camera locked & loaded, I shot out the front door, only to make it has far as our doorstep pot plants, where upon I made a startling discovery. It appears we have an infestation of aphidoidea, or as the sap sucking pest is more commonly known, aphid. At least that's what I think!?

I wouldn't have noticed had I not crouched down for a close encounter with our sorry looking chive plant. The aphids have got some serious coverage! It has only occurred to me now that there might actually still be signs of life there too, with what look like fresh green shoots poking through the debris. The decision now is do we act & remove these unwanted guests, & if so how?

Fun fact! Did you know, 'cos I didn't, that some species of dairying ants 'farm' aphids, affectively protecting them on plants they are on, eating the honeydew they secrete. The ants milk the aphids by stroking them with their antennae.

So there.