The Aphid Farmer

A colony of ants has established its self under our potted rose plant and is very carefully farming the aphids living on it. They collect "honey-dew" or aphid poo which is very high in sugars from the plant and use it to feed their grubs. They also defend their aphids against predators like lady-birds. This colony is obviously not above a bit of fresh meat however, when a spider dropped from it's web onto the nest, it was imediately grabbed and dragged off. Sadly I couldn't get the camera focused in time to get a photo of that.