So i was hoping there may be some breeders on here, maybe just some people who are knowledgeable on the topic or just have an interest in them, both in adult or larvae form.
I saw something i sure didn't expect tonight. Well if you are in to ladybirds/bugs i am sure you will be well aware on their favorite food, aphids!
So you may or maybe not know about ants with aphids and how they farm them for the honeydew they produce? Yup if you did not know that, ants will indeed protect their aphids like we would our cattle from a predator. They will stroke them which causes them to produce the dew then suck it up and transfer via trophallaxis (This is how ants share food from their social stomach between each other) They will also move the aphids to the best spots and stand guard all day. They do sometimes eat them but not often.
I know what you are thinking, that i am away to tell you i found ants protecting the aphids that i want so dead to the point that i ordered 50 Ladybug/bird larvae and set them lose on my plants lol
Well no that is not what i witnessed at all! So i have been trying to clock a larvae eating some aphids but every time i see them they are usually just still on a leaf, so i thought maybe they are more active at night. I waited for sundown then turned the lights off, went up stairs and waited a while more to give them time to get active. So an hour or so has gone bye, i head down stairs and what did i see? That's right the larvae looked to be farming the damn aphids! I saw him/her pick the little bugger up while i was watching through a magnifying glass and here is me thinking "Yay here we go at last!! My first time seeing one of my larvae eating an aphid, woohoo go larvae!" It moved the aphid from a normal part of the leaf on to one of the veins.
Yeahhhhhh..............
I bleep you not! The git looked to be farming the aphids ORrrrrr, and here is what i am hoping it is, that they are really shy in light and was away to eat it but i disturbed it ORRRRRRR it is farming it but in a way that is still of benefit because it was fattening them up??? LOL Nah!!! There are plenty aphids for it to be eating without fattening the damn things up more. SO another ORRR i had in mind was that, it was away to bed and brought itself a midnight snack so it would not have to move far from bed if it woke up LMAO!!! lol !!! Yeah i know ok lol i know =p
Do we have any breeders or people well clued up on such matters that have seen this behavior? They are the 2 spotted UK native Adalia Bipunctata if that helps.
Any replies even if you are no expert would be great too or from anyone who just finds this funny and maybe has an interest in the topic
EDIT: I just thought of one more ORRRRRR to add.......... i have a vegan ladybird/bug
I saw something i sure didn't expect tonight. Well if you are in to ladybirds/bugs i am sure you will be well aware on their favorite food, aphids!
So you may or maybe not know about ants with aphids and how they farm them for the honeydew they produce? Yup if you did not know that, ants will indeed protect their aphids like we would our cattle from a predator. They will stroke them which causes them to produce the dew then suck it up and transfer via trophallaxis (This is how ants share food from their social stomach between each other) They will also move the aphids to the best spots and stand guard all day. They do sometimes eat them but not often.
I know what you are thinking, that i am away to tell you i found ants protecting the aphids that i want so dead to the point that i ordered 50 Ladybug/bird larvae and set them lose on my plants lol
Well no that is not what i witnessed at all! So i have been trying to clock a larvae eating some aphids but every time i see them they are usually just still on a leaf, so i thought maybe they are more active at night. I waited for sundown then turned the lights off, went up stairs and waited a while more to give them time to get active. So an hour or so has gone bye, i head down stairs and what did i see? That's right the larvae looked to be farming the damn aphids! I saw him/her pick the little bugger up while i was watching through a magnifying glass and here is me thinking "Yay here we go at last!! My first time seeing one of my larvae eating an aphid, woohoo go larvae!" It moved the aphid from a normal part of the leaf on to one of the veins.
Yeahhhhhh..............I bleep you not! The git looked to be farming the aphids ORrrrrr, and here is what i am hoping it is, that they are really shy in light and was away to eat it but i disturbed it ORRRRRRR it is farming it but in a way that is still of benefit because it was fattening them up??? LOL Nah!!! There are plenty aphids for it to be eating without fattening the damn things up more. SO another ORRR i had in mind was that, it was away to bed and brought itself a midnight snack so it would not have to move far from bed if it woke up LMAO!!! lol !!! Yeah i know ok lol i know =p
Do we have any breeders or people well clued up on such matters that have seen this behavior? They are the 2 spotted UK native Adalia Bipunctata if that helps.
Any replies even if you are no expert would be great too or from anyone who just finds this funny and maybe has an interest in the topic
EDIT: I just thought of one more ORRRRRR to add.......... i have a vegan ladybird/bug
