The intriguing world of farmer ants ๐Ÿœ and captive aphids

 The Intriguing World of Farmer Ants ๐Ÿœ and their Captive Aphids


There is plenty of intrigue, nay brazen thuggery, in the garden ... if only you care to look closer. Take the case of garden black farming ants ๐Ÿœ ... that are very active in spring.

Farmer Ants extracting honeydew from Aphids (Source: Originalbuttterflyhouse)



I noticed the French chard which had overwintered in my garden, and was doing quite well until the leaves were getting predated by aphids - tiny black dots on the underside guarded by garden black farming ants!!


Holes in French chard leaves due to aphid infestation


Aphids feed primarily on the sap from plants, essentially sucking the nutrients from leaves and stems to secrete a sugary liquid called honeydew. This honeydew secretion is very sugar-rich and is devoured by ants as a food source. 


As a result, a mutualistic system (the National Geographic link below says the ants have gamed the system to favour them) has evolved wherein the farming black ants shepherd the aphids around to the juiciest and safest parts of plants like the undersides of leaves and protect them from predators (including lacewings, ladybugs and ladybird larvae, and hoverfly. This leaves only birds and parasitic wasps as a potential threat). 


Furthermore, these ants carry the aphids back into their nests at night and for winter. 


In return for the protection, the ants are allowed to ‘milk’ the aphids - by stroking the aphids with their antennae, coaxing them to secrete their honeydew which is then devoured by the ant. 


In every ant colony, workers specialize in different roles such as nursing or foraging, - in farming ants, some workers will specialize just in shepherding and caring for the aphids! 


The remedy is ant bait, which contains active toxicants or insecticides mixed with carbohydrates (e.g., sugars), proteins, oils, or a combination of these three that attract worker-ants which recruit other workers to it. Workers carry small portions of the slow-acting bait back to the nest where it is transferred mouth to mouth to other workers, larvae, and queens to kill the entire colony. Some examples of active ingredients include boric acid (borate or various forms of sodium borate), hydramethylnon, fipronil, and avermectin B (abamectin).


Sources:

  1. https://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7411.html
  2. https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/did-you-know/farmer-ants-and-their-aphid-herds
  3. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/ants-herd-aphids-with-tranquilisers-in-their-footsteps?loggedin=true&rnd=1712794385360


Location: Willowgate Community Gardens, Andsbury Ave, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA

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