Aphids on Fireweed

"Certain types of aphids live in colonies where they are used as a food source by a neighbouring colony of ants. The ants have been known to bite the wings off the aphids in order to stop them from getting away and depriving the ants of one of their staple foods: the sugar-rich sticky honeydew which is excreted by aphids when they eat plants. (They don't eat the actual Aphids). Chemicals produced in the glands of ants can also sabotage the growth of aphid wings." From ScienceDaily.

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071009212548.htm

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphid

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamerion_angustifolium