A quick comment to the person who wondered about the dearth of bird missives to this listserv-remember the moral of the story of the Little RED HEN.
As for me (us), I was, last evening, standing out in the front yard watching for any passable passing passerine and, seeing none, was attracted to one of several small sunflowers that Susie planted some time ago. Specifically noted was a large black ant going up the stem and disappearing under a leaf. I turned the leaf over and found about 6 other black ants (carpenter?) and a dozen 1/8" long brown bugs (insects). The ants were actively touching the bugs in a behavior I've often seen them perform while "milking" aphids. These bugs had an odd shape, however. I went back to birding, the ultimate pastime, but still saw nothing about. So I revisited the milking parlor. I shook the ants off, having been bitten on previous occasions by these rabid defenders, got a hand lens, and knocked some of the bugs into my hand. Lo! They didn't look anything like aphids; I called Susie out and she said they looked, in profile, like buffalo (bison, to be scientifically correct). Then. on some unknown cue, they all went spinging off, out of sight. Another clue, not missed by us. This called for a literature search. Palmer in his Fieldbook of Natural History, lists a BUFFALO TREE HOPPER that had a strong resemblance to our bugs. But why the ants? A Guide to the Insects by Borrer & White cleared this up. They state that many leafhoppers, in addition to being SAPSUCKERS like aphids, discharge a clear, watery fluid from their anus called 'HONEYDEW' and that other insects, including ants, go for it in a big way. Moral of this is: Forget the birds, watch the insects. S. & S. Fast Brooktondale -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
