Aphids (fleas) - aphids (English spelling)

Japanese: アブラムシ(蚜虫) - アブラムシ（英語表記）aphid

A general term for insects belonging to the superfamily Aphidoidea in the order Hemiptera. The name "aphid" comes from the fact that children in the Edo period would play by crushing these insects that swarmed on plants and rubbing the liquid on their hair to make it shiny, but since many species live symbiotically with ants and are protected by the ants' excretions, they are also commonly called "arimaki" (meaning ant farm). They are closely related to cicadas and planthoppers, and there are about 4,500 known species worldwide and about 700 known species in Japan. They are tiny, with most measuring just 1-5 mm in length.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

半翅目アブラムシ上科Aphidoideaに属する昆虫の総称。江戸時代の子どもが，草木に群がるこの類をつぶして，その液を髪の毛にぬってつやを出して遊んだことからアブラムシの名が生まれたが，アリと共生し，アリに排出物を与えて守ってもらう種類が多いので，アリマキ(アリの牧場の意)の名も広く用いられる。　セミやウンカに類縁が近く，世界で約4500種，日本で約700種が知られる。微小で多くは体長1～5mmほど。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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