Ants Are Farmers Too?

Carpenter ants can be really destructive in your home or the wood pile but they don't really destroy trees unless they are already dead or dying.  But, when I spotted a conga line of ants going up one of our containerized apple trees, I decided to take a closer look to see what they were up to.

This little guy decided to wave hello.

Or maybe he's giving me the finger because shortly after I took that picture, they converged on me and attacked my fingers.  Turns out I was disturbing their tending to their livestock.

Ants watching over their aphid herd like cowboys watching their cattle.

Apparently I wasn't the only one entranced by these industrious little insects as, with a little research, I found that the ants actually use chemicals in their feet to tranquilize and subdue aphids, which are in the same category as cicadas and grasshoppers.  They're also called "plant lice".  Ewwwww!

 

You can see the fat little green aphids on the underside of the leaf in that last picture.  Believe it or not, the ants actually herd these aphids like we do cattle.  They bite their wings off so they can't fly away, they move the aphids up to the choicest part of the tree, pick them up and groom them, and move them to the juiciest part of the leaves.  Then the ants "milk" the aphids by stroking their abdomens with their antennae.  And then they suck their butts.  

You read that right...they suck their butts.  So much for the family rating on this blog.

From what I've read, the aphids suck the nutrients out of the leaves and then poop out a sugary honeydew, which the ants eat and carry back to their colony.  It's a dedicated food source for the ants.  In exchange, the aphids get protection from their natural predators like lacewings and this little lady that was spotted not far away.

Needless to say, the ants and their little aphid farm can't stay where it is and they really aren't welcome in the garden AT ALL.  The aphids are easily sprayed off the leaves with a hose, which disrupts the ants activity.  We sprayed them off last night and will keep an eye on the situation because aphids can and will chomp on other types of plants, including just about anything in the garden.  

If drowning them doesn't work, we may have to look at some other options.  You can pop them between your fingers, or use organic spray like Neem Oil or insecticidal soap or (what I think we will do) dust the tree with Diatomaceous Earth.  I've also read that planting sweet alyssum in conjunction with garlic may repel the ants and attract the insects that normally prey on the aphids.  Anybody have any experience with that?

Yeehaw!  Get along little aphids...   

Anywhere but on my apple trees!

I'm sharing this with this week's HomeAcre Hop, Green Living Thursday and From the Farm hops.  Go check them out!