LeftHandLuke
Mame
I worked at a couple of nurseries as a youngster and remember in the springtime walking past rows of potted peonies, finding carpenter ants perched on the buds. What did I do? I sent those little dudes into orbit with a swipe of my hand. I did this a lot. Then one day my boss said something like, "The buds on those peonies are looking great. Now all we need are some ants." That was when I learned that they were supposed to be there. It used to be thought -- and I'm sure my boss was thinking this -- that the plants could not flower without ants climbing up there and chewing on the buds so they can open, but I believe that's been disproven. However, I've learned that the ants do one important thing, which was to protect the flowers from any other invading pests.
So with all that backstory, I noticed some very tiny gnats on the buds of my Ilex verticillata (winterberry) today. Mine is a male plant, which means flowers but no berries. I don't know anything about those gnats, but I happened to see my old friend the carpenter ant was also present. I knocked a few of those off like old-school before finally remembering the old story that I have just bored you with. So, my question is... Anyone know what those ants are doing, or what about those gnats? The gnats are very small, nearly impossible to photograph. Any expertise with ant-on-plant symbiosis? I'm inclined to think the ant is sipping on some nectar -- which is also what the gnats are doing -- but the ant is also eating any of the gnats who are trying to steal his nectar.
So with all that backstory, I noticed some very tiny gnats on the buds of my Ilex verticillata (winterberry) today. Mine is a male plant, which means flowers but no berries. I don't know anything about those gnats, but I happened to see my old friend the carpenter ant was also present. I knocked a few of those off like old-school before finally remembering the old story that I have just bored you with. So, my question is... Anyone know what those ants are doing, or what about those gnats? The gnats are very small, nearly impossible to photograph. Any expertise with ant-on-plant symbiosis? I'm inclined to think the ant is sipping on some nectar -- which is also what the gnats are doing -- but the ant is also eating any of the gnats who are trying to steal his nectar.