"did you see the latest meme from Aphids on Threads? So funny lol" - 12 year old Maoist farmer child who has joined forces with the pests against bourgeois capitalism because they were radicalized by a social media front group.

So-called dairying ants have a mutualistic relationship with aphids, tending them for their honeydew and protecting them from predators.

he protecc, he snacc,

Aphids are among the most destructive insect pests on cultivated plants in temperate regions. In addition to weakening the plant by sucking sap, they act as vectors for plant viruses and disfigure ornamental plants with deposits of honeydew and the subsequent growth of sooty moulds. Because of their ability to rapidly increase in numbers by asexual reproduction and telescopic development, they are a highly successful group of organisms from an ecological standpoint.

"nooo you can't weaken my commodities! Middle class Karens won't buy these vegetables if they don't look perfect!" haha honeydew goes drippp bug-facts

Control of aphids is not easy. Insecticides do not always produce reliable results, given resistance to several classes of insecticide and the fact that aphids often feed on the undersides of leaves. On a garden scale, water jets and soap sprays are quite effective. Natural enemies include predatory ladybugs, hoverfly larvae, parasitic wasps, aphid midge larvae, crab spiders, lacewing larvae, and entomopathogenic fungi. An integrated pest management strategy using biological pest control can work, but is difficult to achieve except in enclosed environments such as greenhouses.

"enclosed environments such as greenhouses" PRISON PLANET

  • Nakoichi [they/them]
    ·
    1 year ago

    So-called dairying ants have a mutualistic relationship with aphids, tending them for their honeydew and protecting them from predators.

    kropotkin-shining So you're telling me that mutual aid is a factor of evolution?