Ant 'farming' an aphid, Forest of Dean
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Ant 'farming' an aphid, Forest of Dean by Eric Soons as part of the Geograph project.
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Ant 'farming' an aphid, Forest of Dean
Image: © Eric Soons Taken: 26 Apr 2007
We have one soft stemmed tree in one of our hedges that the ants just love. They farm aphids at the base of the thumb-thick trunk and daily escort them up to the juicy leaves at the top. There they encourage the aphids to extrude a sweet-tasting juice as they feed off the sugary sap. How do the ants encourage the aphids ? By stroking them with their antennae, of course.
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Image Location
Latitude
51.802933
Longitude
-2.507977