ants farming aphids?

[macro junkie]

iv ben doing some reading..from what i gather aphids much like mealy bugs produce a sugary substance that the ants have learned to exploit the ants farm the aphids for a steady supply of this sugar secretion or wyhat i like to call suger poo :lol:
sorry about pics..all pics where hand held.so there not the clearest of shots..im off there today to get some mroe shots hopfully real clear ones.

All pics where teken at nine springs which is a 10 min walk from my house:) oh cheack out the refletions im getting fomr the mt-24ex..its a joke..:cry:

nine springs - http://www.ninesprings.net/

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1193/1228399734_4903901bc3_b.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1270/1228399654_fc7c1d1d03_b.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1004/1228399760_658268b845_b.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1167/1227744409_b201635828_b.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1050/1228399796_8f4d39be01_b.jpg

[MrEd]

that ant has a dent in his back!!! maybe battle damage! yeh i have seen ants doing this aswell, they sort of carry the little blob away with them, i never realised either, 2nd from last is a cool picture

[macro junkie]

that ant has a dent in his back!!! maybe battle damage! yeh i have seen ants doing this aswell, they sort of carry the little blob away with them, i never realised either, 2nd from last is a cool picture
yes but see how the flash is messing up my shots big time..
BIG TIME!! its starting to get me down..im going to try and defuse it today with paper towing like lordv has on his flash..i got to try somthing this is really start to bug me..any way thanks for stoping by man..

[skylab]

Super set. Light looks ok to me. If you have Photoshop CS3 or Elements5 you can use the new settings to eliminate highlights.

[macro junkie]

Super set. Light looks ok to me. If you have Photoshop CS3 or Elements5 you can use the new settings to eliminate highlights.
i have cs3..what do i have to do..cheack your pm box..;)

[Jay Lowery]

great interaction shot!! deff need to get that diffused. photoshop wont get you where you want to be but it will help.

[Ferco]

Awesome- yea lol the ants like herd them around and chase off ladybirds etc. and collect the sort of sugary liquid the aphids make... very nice Symbiotic relation ship (didn't get a B in GCSE biology for nothing ;))

[dreamline]

Great series M-J

I shouldn't worry too much about the reflections. If you hadn't mentioned them I wouldn't have noticed them. :)

Excellent action pics.

[spidermanrbryce2006]

wow thats close awesome shots

[macro junkie]

thanks for all your good comments guys..:) and thanks for stoping by my thread

[bromm]

Great series, if you shoot in "Raw" mode, Raw Shooter Essentials has a highlite contrast slider which works well for controlling over exposed areas.

[Michael Bottoms]

I find these shots to be amazing... WOW... How close was your lens to the insects? With my 60mm macro, I'd have to be right on top of them for those shots... and then there wouldn't be enough light... I am very impressed... thanks for sharing...

[scot079]

Great shots dude, and an informative story behind it....that lens is awesome. Doesn't Sto-Fen make something for your ring flash?

[macro junkie]

I find these shots to be amazing... WOW... How close was your lens to the insects? With my 60mm macro, I'd have to be right on top of them for those shots... and then there wouldn't be enough light... I am very impressed... thanks for sharing...
better late than never..;)..i was looking at this thread,,,i cant work out why theres so many difrent ahipds?i just took some new hots and i saw these in this thread..very odd..any way i was very close..this is the only downside to the lens..i was like inchs away from the ahipds..:shock:

i love looking back at my old shots..makes me happy to know im shooting way better now.:)

[Omri Alon]

Great captures :D

[macro junkie]

those where some of my 1st shots with the lens and going past 1:1..im better now..;)

[CyberDyneSystems]

These are excellent shots of the amazing behavior.
I had a chance to see this in action many years back, took pics but did not have the right stuff to do macro.

Ants are truly an amazing race.. very complex behavior. They even go to War.

[macro junkie]

These are excellent shots of the amazing behavior.
I had a chance to see this in action many years back, took pics but did not have the right stuff to do macro.

Ants are truly an amazing race.. very complex behavior. They even go to War.
yes..i took some new shots of them doing the same thing..il upload them later..thanks gfor stoping by..