of ants and aphids

So I’ve been totally mystified why I keep coming across ants whenever I go in search for aphids in my vegetable garden.

At first I thought the ants were feeding off the aphids, that they were natural predators of these pesky mite-y bugs.

Turns out I was just half right, or half way off.

My curiosity fed by the constant close encounters, I once again fired up Mr. Google and came up with the following startling, amazing, ingenious facts:

• Aphids feed on the sugary fluids found in plants, in great quantities
• These tiny insects poop a very sweet nectar called honeydew, which the ants guzzle to their hearts content
• To keep the integrity of this food source, ants have been known to protect the aphids from its predators...sometimes going so far as attacking ladybug eggs
• Ants have also been known to farm these aphids—sometimes keeping aphid eggs in their nests during the winter months

No wonder I can’t get rid of these pesky bugs, ugh!

The ant-and-aphid I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine interplay may not be at all an ideal relationship though. Recent studies show that this may heavily skew in favor of the ants.

Scientists have discovered that the chemicals in itsy bitsy ant feet—used to mark out their territories or at least serving as a GPS for the blind little things—actually act as tranquilizers for the aphids. When aphids tread on the path worn out by ants, they’ve been observed to slow down in their movements considerably.

For the aphids, I think the chemicals signal that ants are near and they’re protected from their predators. So they don’t stray far from the irresistible scent.

For the ants, though, it’s one way of keeping their food source near and under their control. The sedative effect of the ant chemicals ensure that the aphids don’t go far and become unavailable.

It’s really not a partnership of equals, if you think about the ants and the aphids. It’s more like a master-and-slave liaison. After all, ants have been known to feast on aphids when the honeydew is scarce. The aphids, unfortunately in this case, don’t have any way to counter an attack from their protectors turned predators.

The next time I see these would-be lovers in my garden, I'm not going to be as naive now and let them be. I'm gonna nuke the ants along with the aphids, and I'm gonna nuke 'em good. Hah!