On 25 Jan 99 at 16:26, Brent Thompson wrote: > > > Do ants play a part in pollination of chiles? > > I am convinced ants play a big role in pollenization of my rocotos. If it is of any use I concur. Reason is with all the aphid suggestions I went out this morning to check again. I was rewarded with the sight of many ants crawling in and out of the flowers. Taking a careful look at the flower revealed a small amount of moisture (nectar?) at the inside base of each petal. The ants were feeding on this. On a couple of ants pollen could be seen on the four rear legs. The plants I checked, rocotos of course ;-) Which adds another possible reason I have fruit this year. I have seen the ants, I have seen the pollen on their legs. I have not seen an ant go from one flower to another but would assume this a forgone conclusion. Interestingly the ants try to shake the pollen off which contacts them when they go for the nectar at the base of the flower. My guess is this action will enhance the transfer of pollen from flower to ant to flower as well. Did not find any aphids. Peter -- Peter Moss "Well, let's just say, 'if your VCR is still blinking 12:00, you don't want Linux'". - Bruce Perens