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That's certainly a possibility.  I notice that last year I had troubles with tiny caterpillars a little later in the season on the same branches.  On the other hand, it seems plausible that ants would selectively attack the flowering buds of the domestic apple parts.  I'm sure the domestic apple tastes better than the crab - my local deer show a clear and strong preference.  :)  I assume that either the domestic apple is sweeter (more carbohydrate) or less bitter (fewer toxins), which might lead the ants to prefer it, too.  And the squirrels and rabbits have taught me that fruiting buds taste better than vegetative buds (at least to mammals.) 

If it is a disease, does anyone have any ideas what it might be, or how to combat it?  Whatever the problem is, it affects five different cultivars of domestic apple on this tree.  (Ashmead's Kernal, Karmijn, Cox's Orange Pippin, Ribston, and Tydeman's late orange, from two different sources)

Ginda


On Apr 22, 2005, at 1:40 PM, Doc Lisenby wrote:

> Ginda, it could be that the ants are merely opportunists.  As you probably know, from you medical background, some human disease organisms only feast on damaged tissue.  I removed two old failed grafts this morning  which were still covered with grafting tape and both of them had ants under the tape.  These ants were of two types, one type was brown and the other was black.  Of course some ants select mainly protein foods and others select carbohydrates.  Fire ants are not attracted to carbohydrates but prefer proteins.  These may be a seasonal preferences.  I don't know.  Maybe our entomologist member has a better explanation.
> Doc
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