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>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.
The buds of Peonies (genus Paeonia) produce extra-floral (meaning
"outside of flowers") nectar on their buds specifically to attract
ants who defend the buds like pugnacious bodyguards. If you can find
a Peony without ants (good luck!) then the nectar is readily seen as
"drops" of fluid along the edges of the sepals.
Phil
--
Phil Schappert, PhD
27 Clovis Ave.
Halifax, NS, B3P 1J3
902-404-5679 (home)
902-460-8343 (cell)
www.philschappert.com
www.papiliomusic.ca
"Just let imagination lead, reality will follow through..."
(Michael Hedges)
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