Seven spot ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata) on a seedhead being attacked by an ant.

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Ants farm aphids, a mutualistic relationship where the ants collect sweet honeydew from the aphids and they protect the aphids from predators. This ladybird, a predator of aphids, was on a seedhead of a plant whose stem was covered in aphids, and the ants were attacking the predator to protect their food source.

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Size: 3069px × 4603px
Location: Dry Sandford Pit, Cothill Road, Dry Sandford, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, UK
Photo credit: © Gillian Pullinger / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: ant, ants, attack, attacked, behavior, behaviour, britain, british, bug, buglife, bugs, coccinella, dry, england, english, fauna, insect, insects, invertebrate, invertebrates, kingdom, ladybird, ladybug, nature, pit, plant, sandford, seedhead, septempunctata, spot, summer, uk, united, wildlife