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Why are ants on my peonies?

It's peony season with some perhaps past their prime but many more buds set to open in the coming days. And they are beautiful. But what about those ants on the buds.

GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. - It's peony season with some perhaps past their prime but many more buds set to open in the coming days. And they are beautiful. But what about those ants on the buds.

Heidi Heiland, of GrowHaus in Corcoran, explains, "We're learning a lot about pollinators and insects and these ants are akin to that type of an idea. They are part of nature. They help those peonies open up. There's sugar in the bud of the peony and that's what those ants like. that sugar."

At least that's the current consensus. But there's room for a little research here.

"So a lot of what goes on with Mother Nature is pretty complex. There's so much to discover and understand and research and not all of the research has been done on the peonies and the ants. But it's commonly understood that they're part of the process of the peony opening because it happens at the same time every year. It wasn't problematic so maybe nobody has put any money into researching it," continues Heiland.

So until someone proves otherwise, we can at least in part thank out six-legged friends for helping these beauties burst into bloom.

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