The green peach aphid/peach-potato aphid Myzus persicae can colonize hundreds of plant species, an ability that is in part due to the delivery of saliva proteins – often referred to as effectors – into the host plant that suppress plant defence. As a generalist herbivore with a remarkable ability to colonize new host plants M. persicae represents an outstanding model system for studying the molecular mechanisms underlying plant-insect interactions. Recent advancements in mass spectrometry instrumentation and database search software along with a new high-quality reference genome assembly for M. persicae and a simplified method for improved aphid saliva recovery, collectively enhance the detection of saliva proteins with unprecedented sensitivity and specificity.