Ants <Sneaky wee bug-er’s> the stealth pollinators

Sneaky wee bug-er’s

Well the bee’s and butterfly's have all the good press about pollinating flowers to make our countryside beautiful, but it’s the ants that sneak up on you and do the dirty work..  let’s back up a bit. I like peppers green red and yellow banana and the occasional jalapeno. A little spice is very nice.... But it’s when my lips are on fire I become concerned there’s not enough milk & bread to put out the flames.

So my lovely daughter decided to plant some Chinese pepper and ghost peppers near my regular peppers and yellow tomatoes. Me being of a certain age that doesn’t care much for where I’m walking nor what I’m ripping off the vine in the garden grab one of my peppers and much YIKES to my chagrin the normally sweet tangy flavor was laced with a ears turning red, sweat beading on the forehead, lost your voice, thing dangling in back of mouth (uvula) on fire.

What happened was the ants (bless their hearts) decided to share the pollen from one plant to another taking on some of the genetic character from the other…

Any one else experience this phenomenon? Please share stories.

     John (drinker of many gallons of water one particular afternoon and in-attention to details of cross pollen guy)

Do you have ants farming aphids?

I didn't know about ants pollinating flowers. It makes a lot of sense though as they do like sweet things and I'm sure they would find flowers that provide nectar for pollinators.


image source

According to the site where I found this image, ants aren't usually great pollinators because of their small size, lack of hair to trap pollen and biting mouthpieces. They can also deter bees from visiting as they don't like the ant smell on plants.

yes, we occasionally get the "lottery pepper". Keeps you on your toes, although I don't plant the ones I consider dangerous-level heat (reapers, ghost, etc). I like heat but some of my loved ones don't appreciate it.

we have lots of pollinators, and lots of different kinds of ants. I often see one specific type (chunky, hairy) on squash and especially zucchini, where they are usually joined by bumblebee-type carpenter bees.

Anne Miller wrote:Do you have ants farming aphids?

nope normal aphid population around here, they seem to hang out by the hibiscus without the aid of ants. We do have an abundance of honey bees and bumbles. The Bald face hornets and I are at a standoff, they now build nests further from the house and they get to sleep peacefully without me trying to relocate them in the middle of the night.  My bee keepers outfit must have shrunk in closet, sigh or maybe i need to eat less. The last wasp escapade had me dressed in winter coat & snow pants in middle of 90deg heat.