Do ants eat caterpillars and other stuff

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HeatherJoy Citrus Heights, CA Apr 22, 2015

We have a butterfly bush in our backyard that hasn't bloomed yet. There are ants all over it!! There are no aphids or other bugs but there are leaves that look like they've been eaten by a caterpillar. We are wondering if these ants are killing the caterpillars (we like butterflies) and if so, can we kill the ants without harming butterflies or caterpillars? I've included two pictures of the ants and two pictures of the "caterpillar chow marks"...are these holes/damage being made by caterpillars? Will the ants kill them? Any advice? We are in Sacramento, CA and these pictures were taken today. Thank you :-)

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davedigsdirt Yellville, AR(Zone 6b) Apr 22, 2015

Neither of the damaged leaves in the photos are from caterpillars. They are both simple environmental damage. And while some species of ants will attack and kill large caterpillars if their hive is attacked, the ants in your photos are Camponotus novaeboracensis aka Carpenter Ants and is merely after the moisture on the leaves and no threat to the butterfly caterpillars. He prefers pulpy wood to eat.

This is just a circumstantial situation where the ants and the leaf damage happen to be in the same place at the same time so of no concern.

Dave

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altagardener Calgary, AB(Zone 3b) Apr 24, 2015

Just wondering... carpenter ants here are very large - significantly larger than most "common" ants (though I'm obviously no ant expert!) There is nothing in the photo that provides an absolute scale, but this looks like a "regular" ant.
If there's no evidence of aphids, then I agree it's just a coincidence of ants being present on a plant with some leaf damage.

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