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They don't just protect them as a food source. Some wood ants will literally farm them. If a they expand or a tree isn't producing enough sap, they will move ap
by snarf21 2y ago
They don't just protect them as a food source. Some wood ants will literally farm them. If a they expand or a tree isn't producing enough sap, they will move aphids to new trees putting them on a new sap source so that they can "milk" them for honeydew (aphid excreted sugar which is a major food source for wood ants).
- snarf21 2y agoI forgot to mention that woods ants also create their own medicine. Wood ants will combine resin from evergreen trees with formic acid (from themselves) to create a substance that is anti-microbial and the rub it all over themselves. [Source: I've been doing a lot of reading for background for a board game I'm designing.]
- hetspookjee 2y agoQuite interested in this board game. Do you have some more information on this?
- snarf21 2y agoIt will be called Formica but I have a lot of work yet to do on it. It is set to be quite heavy and complicated, 2+ hour playing time. If you are interested, you can follow all my board game design stuff via @RoscoSchock on Twitter.
- emporas 2y agoYes, i have seen with my own eyes, ants protecting aphids in certain varieties of lentils. Aphids are called in Greek something akin to honeydew, "μελίγκρα" which translates roughly to "honeygra". I didn't know they were actively moving them around, i thought ants were just protecting them.
- m2024 2y agoLeaf cutter ants bring back leaves which are used to cultivate a fungus that is eventually to be consumed by the ants.