Do be vigilant if you have a strawberry patch. Spittlebugs on strawberry plants should be squished or removed with water. Commonly, only strawberries are harmed by the nymph, which can cause fruit to be smaller. Columbine leaves marked with a line that looks like a gray scribble with a fine-lined pencil have probably been infested with the columbine leaf miner, an insect that hatches inside the leaf between the upper and lower surfaces. Picking off the affected leaves will help slow down future generations but the plants seem to coexist well with this pest, which doesn't affect bloom or seed set.
Peonies often attract small ants as they begin to open.
The buds exude a sticky, sweet nectar that brings ants. This isn't true at all. The ants just arrive as the buds begin to show color. Don't worry about their presence. When the plant is fully open, the ants wander off to look for another food source.