Aphis rubifolii lives in curled-leaf pseudogalls of various species of blackberry (Rubus species). The adult apterae are pale yellow, mottled to a greater or lesser extent with green. Their appendages are mainly pale, but the tarsi and apices of the siphunculi are dusky or dark ... The body length of adult Aphis rubifolii apterae is 0.9-1.4 mm.

Small blackberry aphids live in crinkled leaf pseudogalls on both cultivated and wild species of blackberries (Rubus). On cultivated varieties they are often found near the tips of the blackberry canes ... The species is found widely in North America ... Aphis rubifolii has been recorded from 11 different species of Rubus (Rubus allegheliensis, Rubus cuneifolius, Rubus ellipticus, Rubus flagellaris, Rubus laciniatus, Rubus leucodermis (=Melanobatus leucodermis), Rubus occidentalis, Rubus procerus, Rubus strigosus, Rubus ursinus var. loganobaccus, Rubus villosus var. frondosus).