by Human is an animal that always think too highly of themselves. We always think that other animals are stupid and have no brain. We even pay $ to get amazed seeing circus animals playing dumb tricks (e.g. elephants sit on chair). Most would think that agriculture and farming are something intelligent invented by human. The photo below is an evident that proves ants also know farming, probably they have been practising this before first human existed.
The white bugs are actually mealy bugs. It is a pest coz it feeds on plant sap. But to ants, they are an alternative food source. They even protect them. In return, these bugs will secrete sugar and amino acid containing exudates for the ants to gather (like how we milk the cows). Besides red weaver ants, many other ant species also do mealy bug farming.
From what I heard, the ants will bring these bugs back to their nest in the evening or rainy day. Surprise? FYI, termites have more advance and sophisticated farming system. More than 10 years ago, I already discovered something shocking about them. I will show you, once I got the photo and information.
Photos taken in Kota Kinabalu Wetland Centre, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo
