People are not the only living creatures in the world that bred other living beings for food. We started with this practice about 6,000 years ago when we started breeding cattle for their milk and meat, but the ants breed the aphids much longer than us.
Aphids are fed with plant juice and secreted by the sweet and nutritious fluid called the honey, which the ants are glad to eat. It sounds rather unbelievable, but just as people breed cows, sheep, and other cattle, the ants literally bred these tiny bugs. They care about them, provide them with protection from the predators and lead them to graze, or constantly move them to more sooty and richer plants.
When breeding, the ants look at the similar problems they face like we do. Aphids often leave, go away from the herd, or be attacked. The ants are to organize and protect their herds. For example, a bumblebee is dangerous as well as the most vulnerable wolf - only with the common effort and good coordination of a few ants this predator can be diverted from pastures.
Some research on this phenomenon of dairy farms has shown that ants sometimes even deceive the aphids to grow their wings to prevent them from developing, and then stopped them from leaving the herd.
In spite of all the efforts, the aphids of the aisle still sometimes stay away. But the ants have another trick in the sleeve. Thomas Oliver from Imperial College in London discovered that the black garden ants (Lasius niger) secreted the chemicals in their feet that effectively calm the aphids. Ants use chemical extraction to recognize colonists and mark pathways to the food source. When they travel along the path to the food source, the auxiliary aphids become 'calm', effectively preventing them from wandering around.
The sedatives that the ants give the aphids are effective in many ways. In addition to the above, this sedative prevents the aphid and develops the wings. Since the only way to do this is when they are tossed one after the other, when they are calm, there is much less chance that something like this will happen at all.
Though the aphids are worth the protection provided by their ants, as well as the constant source of food, scientists believe that this is a matter of pure manipulation and exploitation by ants - just as do people with cows, sheep, goats ...
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