Uploaded July 2021 | Updated September 2026, 5 hours ago

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Aphids leave behind a sweet substance known as honeydew. Ants love this stuff, so they will gather up and move aphids to a spot where the aphids will be happy and the ants will get their honeydew. The ants will also move in and protect colonies of aphids when they discover them. They keep the natural predators of aphids away.
I was removing the flowers from some potato plants in the garden this afternoon when I spotted these three ants looking after their aphid workers.