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Index of Subjects Hi Bev, others: What is so attractive about unopened 'peony' heads (spelling? - 'peonies' was what I was told they were, verbally)? I was recently in the country just south of Montreal and in a row of maybe 30 unopened heads on healthy plants, all were rife with highly active small sepsid flies (wing-wavers), which were being chased around both by small ants, and by some that were carpenter ant size. A few large visiting hornets were also being seen off by the larger ants. What are they all attracted to, or protecting? I looked for aphids that might be being herded, but didn't see any. A few heads nearby had opened recently but these new flowers seemed to have much less traffic. Steve (Halifax) Quoting Bev Wigney <bkwigney@gmail.com>: > On 2012-06-04, at 2:39 PM, James Hirtle <jrhbirder@hotmail.com> wrote: >> I took a photograph of a Canadian Tiger Swallowtail on Sunday near >> Summerville for the atlas. When I downloaded the photo, I was >> surprised that I had captured an ant crawling on the wing. > > It may be a little early for peonias to be in bloom, but I have > often watched ants practically fling themselves upon any insect that > crawls onto or perches on "their" plant - the leaves or the > flowers. I would expect that flying insects occasionally carry off > a hitchhiker due to this hostile behaviour. > > Bev Wigney > Round Hill, NS
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