Taking a photo of new buds on my Camellia bush, I realised afterwards that they were occupied.
If you squint closely, you’ll spot a few tiny visitors scurrying around amongst the petals; ants.
I’ve no clue what they were doing there, but they were only on the very new flowers and not at all on the older ones.
Any ideas?
I missed you yesterday! π£
I’d really give a good look around that bush. Seems camillia can get scale and aphids rather easily. Others have commented about the honeydew and that’s what their after. Look on the undersides of leaves and along the stems. Are any of the leaves shiney? That’s the honeydew. Maybe it’s only a small amount of invaders, but ants can smell sweets for miles… kinda like me! π© If you do find anything, give em a shot of the hose. Even if your don’t. Give it a shot with the hose. Those things are small and possibly missed.
Hope that helped!
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Thank you very much. π And sorry to bother you. I don’t expect you to read All my posts, but just wondered what your input would be here on this plant question. π
I’ll go out and have a good inspection and see if I can find anything. The bush itself is very healthy, and the leaves naturally have a high sheen to them, so I might not notice any extra shininess. But I’ll give it a bit of a hose-down tomorrow, when I’m allowed to water a bit. Thanks again π
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You’re never bothering me! Let’s get that straight, friend! π
I just miss folks posts in the reader depending on post times, sometimes.
It always seems the posts I miss are the ones folks are asking me questions in! Ha!
Another odd ball thought is:
Is there something over the camillia that may be dripping dew on it? I had that happen and it drove me nuts looking at the wrong plant!
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haha Well thank you for that. π
No – there’s nothing above the camellia, but I will take a closer look and see. It is perfectly healthy otherwise, I just wondered about the ants. And I can’t spray it with water today, as we have drizzle, so not allowed to!
I’ll keep you posted! π And Thank you again, my Go To Plant Girl! π
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Maybe ants appreciate beautiful flowers too. π
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haha Maybe! π
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Like some of your other commentators I have found ants on my peonies. I’ve looked hard to see if they are farming aphids on them, but not noticed any.
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Aphids were the first thing I looked for too, as I see ants on my roses sometimes, and they are after aphids there. I don’t know; maybe there was something for them to eat. π
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Probably it tastes better! π I guess there is always an explanation for our wise Nature…
Sending love! Aquileana π
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Thank you π You’re right – Nature knows exactly what’s going on here. π
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Pretty! π The ants are probably mostly there for the pollen or for nutrient-rich dew on the petals. π
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Thank you. π
Yes, most likely something good to eat there, even if I couldn’t see what! π
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Beautiful, such a wonderful pink and the wildlife a little bonus π
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haha Thank you π
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Annoying when one wants to bring some of the flowers into the house, I find this to be true with peonies, anyway. Ants just aren’t welcome in the house! π
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Yes! We have enough ant problems as it is! π
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Nectar!! Must be!! Lovely camellias and for you to catch the ants on photo is just ππ
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haha You could be right. π
And thank you, but I think it was more luck than skill. π
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πfor once at least I get something on plants with a possible right answer….π
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You do jolly well, I think π
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Heh heh πthanks!
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π
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There must be something sweet about the new petals that the ants like. The color is so pretty.
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Thank you π Yes, some people have said ants like peonies, which seem to be similar to my camellia. π
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It looks like a bowl of rice! Lovely shot.
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I know! It looks so weird in the centre of this new bloom! π
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wonderful photo. I have the same in my garden with my peonies. There are always some very small ants on these plants. Maybe they taste good?
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I really don’t know. The ants didn’t appear to be eating anything. π I think I need to get that magnifying glass you suggested! π
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I actually thought these might be peonies at first, but that didn’t make sense based on your seasons down there. Perhaps they are related? Ants do love a good peony.
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Thank you π Someone else commented that she had ants on her peonies.
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