Ants and their Ant Cows: Aphids

Subject: ants collecting honeydew from aphids
Location: Niagara, Ontario, Canada
July 1, 2013 6:05 pm
Hello there,
I came across these very busy ants on the weekend. While I knew they collected the sweet secretions from aphids (which I have heard called ”honeydew”), I had never actually seen them in the process. Hopefully in this photo you can make out the aphids and the ants coming and going. This was at the top of a fair-sized thistle. Anyway, I thought you might like it for your collection.
Signature: Alison

Ants and Aphids

Hi Alison,
We don’t know what species of Ant nor Aphid you have.  We are rather fond, though, of the common name often given to Aphids of Ant Cows.

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Location: Niagra, Ontario, Canada