>Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1999 10:02:48 +0000 >From: "Celeste or Dave Anderson" > <Gtoughchile@mail.greatbasin.net> >Subject: Re:[CH] bees Thanks to all for the replys. It still leaves the question unanswered. ;-) Do ants play a part in pollination of chiles? > If you have ants crawling on your chiles, chances are that > you have aphids. Ants actually move aphids from plant to plant > because they collect the secretions or "honeydew" Yep Dave I see these six legged cattle ranchers all the time. Which is why I note what they are doing. It is when I see ants standing around I get worried because they are guarding something. Usually aphids. Just to be sure I went out this evening and checked any plant I could see ants on and did not find any aphids. On a couple of plants I really looked carefully and having had these pests before I know what I am looking for and did not waste time looking on top of the leaves. ;-) Not that there are not any which I would be naive to believe but none were visible at the time. > If your killer bees are wasps, they are great aphid predators, > but they are not quite as friendly as lace wings or ladybird > beetles. Nope bees, smaller cousin to your european bee. Much hyped by the media and hollyweird. Hence the name killer bee instead of African bee. We also have a lot of wasps as well both mud and paper. They do a grand job on the bigger stuff like caterpillars. > If you want to divert aphids from your chiles, try planting > sunflowers nearby. Aphids seem to prefer them. Trying to find more space for chiles ;-) Peter -- Peter Moss "Well, let's just say, 'if your VCR is still blinking 12:00, you don't want Linux'". - Bruce Perens