Free Printable Lessons for English Teachers
IELTS material - reading exercises: Ants Secrete Aphid Tranquilizer From Their Feet
Ants and aphids are known to have a complex relationship. The aphids provide the ants with a food source - the sugar-rich honeydew they excrete when eating plants - and, in return, the ants protect the aphids from ladybirds and other insects that prey on them.
To ensure a constant supply of honeydew, some ant species cultivate large numbers of aphids, and prevent them from straying too far from the colony by biting and damaging, or even completely removing, their wings. The ants also secrete a chemical from their mandibles which inhibits wing development in juvenile aphids.
List of questions, and answers at the bottom of the PDF.