Re:[CH] bees
Peter Moss (pmoss@yoda.alt.za)
Mon, 25 Jan 1999 21:43:20 RSA-2
>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