On Wed, 5 Mar 1997, Allen Dick wrote: > > We have ants here that protect and herd aphids on poplar trees. > They keep the aphids on one or two lower branches and overgraze those > limbs to the point where the branches almost inevitably die. > > I understand the ants are keeping the aphids for their honeydew. Yes, ants use aphids like we use cows for milk. A couple years ago my corn stalks were blue with them and starting to wilt, so I ordered a pint of ladybugs to get rid of the aphids. The aphids and ladybugs were gone within 3 days. The aphids were lunch and the ladybugs went looking for their next meal. I could have ordered green lacewings, but they were scary looking and the ladybugs were *much cuter! ****************************************************************************** Dave D. Cawley, Maitre d' | The Internet Cafe | Scranton, Pennsylvania | (717) 344-1969 | [log in to unmask] | ****************************************************************************** URL => http://www.scranton.com