Lasius niger farming Anoecia cornicola
Description
- Title:
- Lasius niger farming Anoecia cornicola
- Caption / Description:
-
Black garden ants (Lasius niger) farm White-banded Dogwood Aphids (Anoecia cornicola) for sweet honeydew.
The ants 'milk' the aphids by stroking them with their antennae, encouraging the aphids to produce the honeydew. In return the ants will protect the aphids from predators such as ladybirds. Sometimes the ants will pick up aphids and move them to another part of the plant, or a new plant to start a new colony or 'farm'.
The White-banded Dogwood Aphid (Anoecia cornicola) is an aphid that feeds on Dogwood (Cornus), the ones in this image they are feeding on Cornus alba. The winged form of Anoecia cornicola has a white band around the top of the abdomen, and a prominent black spot at the end of the principal veins. The cornicles in Anoecia cornicola are merely pores.
The black garden ant (Lasius niger) is the most common ant seen in Britain. The worker ants, which are the ones you will normally see (and shown here) are non-reproductive females. They are dark brown, covered in small hairs, and around 3-5mm long.
- Tags / Keywords:
-
- Biota
- Life
- Vitae
- Eukaryota
- Animalia
- Animals
- Arthropoda
- Arthropods
- Insecta
- Insects
- Hemiptera
- True bugs
- Hymenoptera
- Bees
- Ants
- Wasps
- Formicidae
- Lasius
- Lasius niger
- Black garden ant
- Aphididae
- Anoecia
- Anoecia cornicola
- White-banded Dogwood Aphid
Admin
- Date Original Photo Taken:
- Original File Name:
- _MG_1161-2
- Event:
- Rating:
- ☆
- Date this image added/last updated on website:
- Original File Dimensions:
- 2848px x 4272px
- File Type:
- JPEG
- Color Mode:
- RGB
- Original Image Color Profile:
- Adobe RGB (1998)
Location
- Location Created:
-
- Sublocation:
- City:
- Market Harborough
- Province/State:
- Leicestershire
- Country:
- United Kingdom
- World Region:
- Europe
- Geo-location:
Rights
- Copyright Status:
- Copyrighted
- Licensing Status:
- Rights Managed
- Available for Editorial Use:
- Yes
- Available for Commercial Use:
- Yes
- Copyright Notice:
- © 2010 Dave Kennard
Camera Data
- Date Digital Resource was created:
- Shutter speed:
- 1⁄200 s
- Aperture:
- f/8
- Camera Model:
- Canon EOS 450D
- ISO:
- 100
- Exposure Compensation:
- 0
- Focal Length:
- 65mm
- Focal Length (35mm equiv.):
- Metering Mode:
- Multi-segment
- Flash:
- On, Fired
- Exposure Mode:
- Manual
- White Balance:
- Manual
- Light Source:
- Exposure Program:
- Manual
Additional shooting metadata
- Lens:
- Canon MP-E 65mm F2.8 1-5x Macro
- Filters used:
- Additional Optics used:
- Setup:
- Handheld, 2 shots
Canon MT-24EX Macro Twin Flash with Home-made Concave diffusers
Post Processing
- Image Modified:
- Software used:
-
- Adobe Camera RAW
- Adobe Photoshop CS5
- Post Processing:
CR2s converted in ACR
Images blended for focus in PS CS5
Curves adjustment to add contrast in PS CS5
LCE applied in PS CS5