plant it.. water it properly ... and hope for the best ...

anything special about these ants??? ... like fire ants.. etc ... or just plain old ...

i suspect it was not properly cared for in its pot.. for the few weeks you were holding it.. either not hardened off to sun.. black pot in sun.. or improper watering.. we lack all facts in that regard ...

ken

In most of the US range, honeysuckle is considered a weed. A wonderfully odoriferous weed, but a weed nonetheless because you can't get rid of the durn things!

AFAIK, ants and honeysuckle get along just dandy, though in a pot with little else to eat they may turn to the roots. Go outside, knock the ants off the roots and out of the pot and re-pot with all new potting mix.

Frankly, though, honeysuckle is common enough that you might just want to start over.

(P.S. the flying ants are the drone and queen forms of the little black guys. They take off, mate, and the queens go establish new colonies while the drones die.)

Dennis

Not all honeysuckles are weeds, though Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) is a problem weed in many areas. I grow Lonicera sempervirens, a nonscented, red or orange-flowered native that the hummingbirds love.

I would wash out the ant colony, plant your honeysuckle, and cut it back to remove the diseased foliage. Mulch it in a donut shape (not against the stems) and water as needed to keep the soil moist, not soggy. IME they are relatively sturdy plants and I expect yours will regrow given good care.