In article ,
Rodger Whitlock wrote:
On 9 Aug 2004 18:34:45 GMT, Nick Maclaren wrote:

In article ,
Rodger Whitlock wrote:

If ants are involved, then if you can keep them out of the crown
of the tree the aphid problem should decline and fall...

Nonsense.

Ah, the sweet voice of clarity, enunciating Truth via a well
chosen bon mot.

One learns something new every day.

True.

But let me ask: why, then, do so many gardening books yap about
ants "farming" aphids, even to the point of carting them around
to greener pastures?

That's a damn good question, and one to which I am not certain of
the answer.

Are these descriptions mere N-th generation plagiarisms from an
original description itself based on careless observation?

In most cases, yes.

Or am I just confused? If confusion's your conclusion, please
don't try to take advantage of my weakened state and sell me any
bridges; I just bought the Golden Gate Bridge yesterday and
that's enough for one household.

I shall try not to sell you any of Cambridge's bridges. The situation
is roughly as follows:

Some ants are known to farm aphids, but all that are definitely known
to do so are tropical.

In the UK, some reliable observers have seen ants move aphids, but it
is unknown whether that was to move them to new pastures or to the
dinner table.

In the UK, some reliable observers have seen ants fighting predators
(e.g. ladybird larvae), but it is unknown whether the ants were
defending the aphids or themselves.

I have investigated the correlation between ant presence and aphid
infestation in my garden and elsewhere and, in the cases I have seen,
none were compatible with the hypotheses that ants spread aphids nor
that they enhance an infestation.

Nobody seems ever to have done an experiment seeing whether reducing
the ant population causes a reduction in the aphids in the UK.

No known entomologist believes that reducing the ant population will
cause a reduction in the aphids in the UK.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.