Few stories of mutualism in nature are more common than those of the honeydew-producing aphids and the ants that tend them. In theory, by attracting ants, aphids gain protection from predators. Yet, the Tapinoma in my garden are doing a simply horrible job of protecting their charges from anything. Here are some photographs from just now.
I watched as an aphidiine braconid strolled effortlessly among ants on the bergamot, nonchalantly injecting eggs into the helpless aphids. The ants didn’t seem to notice, or care. Here’s a closer crop of the above photo:
The ants also weren’t doing anything about the predatory syrphid fly larvae grazing through the herd. As if to prove its point, a larva camps out next to the mummified corpse of an aphid (the brown ball at lower left) that the ants failed to protect from a parasitoid wasp:
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised at the ants’ ineptitude. They can’t even protect themselves:
Oh, nature. Never quite doing what you’re supposed to.
***update. Ok, that last photo needs to be memed.
Hi Alex….
This situation reminds me of some policemen, who pretend not to see anything when things are happening in front in their noses! Thanks a lot for showing us this very nice pics!!
Thanks, Francisco! I definitely don’t think the aphids were getting their money’s worth out of these ants.
“Think of it as evolution in action…” see Niven & Pournelle
The jumping spider has an apparently larger and whiter right-side leg waiving in the air. Reminds me of Australian peacock spiders’ (Maratus sp.) mating displays. Perhaps there was yet another story here?
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