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Ants & Aphids
19.2287, 72.8567
Field Notes
Description:
Ants and aphids share symbiosis. Ants feed on the sugary honeydew secreted by aphids. In exchange, the ants protect the aphids from predators and parasites.
Black ants: 2 - 2.5 mm long (don't bite humans).
Creamish Aphids: Less than 1 mm with even their offsprings smaller than 0.5 mm seen on closer inspection (best viewed with 10x magnifying lens).
Please mention the ID of both the Ant & the Aphid and if possible, the cashew-nut plant's too.
Habitat:
Found in a garden potted cashew-nut plant's young leaf.
Notes:
Aphids are insects smaller than ants, feeding on plant sap. They excrete sugary honeydew, which is food for ants. Honey-ants actually “tend" the aphids, stroking them with their antennae as if “milking" the aphids to produce the honeydew! Its similar to humans tending to their cattle for milk.
Insects like ladybirds and other parasites are predators to Aphids. The caretaker ants will fight ferociously to protect their aphids from these predators.
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