pests Aphid Farmer ants (grr)

[geeme]

Question on the ladybugs.  I noticed a clump of aphids on one plant and only massed around a single bloom.  I've had no issue with aphids this year and those little black ants just seem to run around the plant from bloom to bloom.  Yesterday I was out trimming my shrubs and found a huge mess of ladybugs on one shrub.  I decided to move a few over to the pepper plant with aphids and the little black ants.  The ants immediately kicked into panic mode and rushed to the lady bugs.  They were all over the bugs and I'm assuming stinging the crap out of them because they popped out wings and hauled arse.  Is this normal?

 
Ladybugs do not usually mass together except during cool to cold weather when they start hibernating. There is a very good chance what you found is a nest of stinkbugs that look similar to ladybugs. Do you have pics to post?
 
In addition to ladybugs, green lacewings eat aphids rather voraciously. Both fly and can generally avoid getting beaten by ants because of this. Doesn't mean they don't ever lose, just that it's not quite that common.