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03-07-2003, 03:20 PM

On 3 Jul 2003 12:52:14 GMT, (Nick Maclaren) wrote:

In article ,
Stephen Howard writes:
|
| L.niger is, as popular parlance might put it, 'known for it, Guv'.
| In areas where L.niger actively cultivates an aphid population well
| over a dozen species of aphid have been found in a nest.
| Naturally, their behaviour in Britain may be modified to suit the
| climate, but the species has a strong herding tendency.

Yes, indeed. There is no doubt whatsoever about the association.
The only thing that I question is the causality.

| Their behaviour is quite distinct from Myrmica rubra, which is common
| in these parts ( a fact of which I am often painfully reminded ).
| Their colonies are much smaller, and the ant is rather more
| aggressive. Although I have often seen them in association with aphids
| I haven't as yet observed anything but the most passing of
| relationships.

If it is the reddish one I have, nor have I.

Yes, it's the reddish one - about half as large again as the common
black ant.

| Which brings me to ask.. which species were you studying, and was it
| the same one across the various plots?
| The point also arises that one species of ant in competition with
| another for the same resources may well find it advantageous to scale
| up any semi-symbiotic relationships.

The only one I am fairly certain about is L. niger, which is the
main one I have looked at. I am no expert, and so cannot tell you
what the others were.

Well, opinion seems to vary as to the precise number of species in the
UK - anything from 20 to 47 - but even if you disregard some of the
more specialised ants you can reckon on half a dozen species that
might be found in a garden habitat.

| On my veg patch that wouldn't be the case.
| The beans, and occasionally the peas, are the only things I grow that
| seem to be prone to aphid attack - the salad crops I keep under
| fleece.

No brassicas? A different aphid, of course.

No brassicas - save for a few swedes etc, which are grown under
fleece.
My plot suffers terribly from flea beetle, pigeons, rabbits, deer and
cabbage whites. I've found it a damn sight easier to buy greens.
If I ever get round to knocking up those fleece frames I've always
promised myself, I might treat myself to a few sprouts and some
broccoli.
Ideally what I need is a local gardener who has no problems with
brassicas, but simply can't grow a courgette! I can dream...

| I certainly agree that ants, at least in this country, aren't
| responsible for aphid infestations - but I'm sufficiently convinced
| through observation that their presence adds to the success of an
| aphid infestation.

Hmm. I have observed no difference quite a lot, so my guess is
that any effect is environment dependent.

So it depends where those old wives came from

|
| With regards to your observations, what percentage of them were
| carried out at night?

None. That is a fair point.

I can't say that I've observed them at night either - I get enough
strange looks as it is from my habit of picking slugs off my veg in
the middle of the night.
What I can say is that I've often seen the results of nocturnal ant
skirmishes, and have occasionally caught the tail end of an entire
colony on the move - which suggests that ants are equally busy, if not
more so, in the course of the night.
And as for what the aphids get up to..!

Regards,

--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{whoisat}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk

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