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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=931232203-30062008>There are some types
of ants that farm aphids. The aphids extract juices from trees and produce
a sweet nectar, the ants collect and presumably devour the nectar; in
turn the ants nurture the aphids by protecting them from predators
etc. This mutually beneficial interrelationship is way cool;
still I wish to have the sons a bitches out of my citrus
trees. They may be sapping energy from the trees and contributing to
my paltry fruit yield.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=931232203-30062008>There was a steady
stream of ants going up and down the trunk. I applied a sticky substance
in a ring around the trunk to create a barrier; ants in the tree can no longer
get to the ground and vice versa. This afternoon I noticed that the ants
in the tree have abandoned their aphids. The ants apparently have no means
of making the intuitive leap to say: oh, to hell with getting back to the nest,
I will just devour the aphid nectar and live up here.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=931232203-30062008>Our peak oil
discussion reminds me of the plight of the ants trapped in the fruit
trees. The ants could theoretically survive if they made a sudden radical
change in their collective behavior in response to the change in
conditions. But they can't do it. They are
screwed.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=931232203-30062008>spike</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
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