g'day dave,

i'm no scientist here but that is how it is, yes you can have ants yet
not appear to have any of the problems they can bring, yes they too
are important in the organic aspect as they dispose of stuff and help
recycle it but they can bring the nasties, i don't see aphids as
particularly nastya s theya re so easy to get rid of once the ants
have been moved on.

and yes it can appear that there are no ants yet plants have aphids,
mealy bug, scale etc.,. but the ants are there or have been. all this
is just part of gardening lore.

same with potted plants tend to get mealy bug but only after the ants
have moved in.

ants don't pick plants because they are this or that they pick plants
suitable for whatever thrip they are harvesting.

the relationship is symbiotic and it isn't any discovery of mine, as i
said it is the nature of things, so mines not to reason why but to
learn the why and then get a fix if a plant is being affected.

also the reason why a lot of gardeners complain that it doesn't matter
what poison they use on these bugs they keep coming back, yep because
they haven't controlled the ants and when they do then the bug is gone
untill the ants come back maybe.

so if the ants are there they could have a herd of aphids tucked away
on the roots of the roses waiting for the right time to bring them
up??

the ants as i understand do not eat the aphid they only eat the sugary
substance that the aphids secrete.

and all those bugs are sap suckers not just aphids, mealy bugs and
scale live from sucking the sap or how would they live, just with
mealies and scale they might tend to secrete more sugary substance
than the ants can use so then the excess harbours sooty mould.

On Fri, 25 Aug 2006 17:52:52 +0800, in aus.gardens you wrote:

snipped
With peace and brightest of blessings,

len

--
"Be Content With What You Have And
May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In
A World That You May Not Understand."

http://www.gardenlen.com