The roses are armed with sharp and curved prickles so that its foliage is not eaten by cattle. These prickles strip off with the bark. These are just surface appliances and not modified braches or true thorns. Several species have their calices coated with sticky gum or fine hairs. This destroys the crawling pilferers. They also have a bright red calyx tube inside which the seeds are packed. This is the much loved food of many birds, so they carry it and drop it far away. This way the seeds are distributed widely.

Insects are attracted to a flower because of its bright colored petals, pollen and fragrance however no nectar is secreted by the rose. Trichius piger which is a common beetle and few species of bees totally depend on the pollen grains of some wild roses to get a food for themselves and also for their larvae. The pistil of the flower receives pollen grains which are carried by Bumblebees from other roses. The rose is adapted to them and the Bumblebees land on the flower's centre as the petals are not able to provide them the required support. Stamens mature and are then turned outward. This is done so that the insect carrying the pollen strikes the stigma initially. The pistils also mature along with the stamens.

Insects are benefactors to plants but some of them act as foes also. The plant lice or green flies as they are commonly known stick to the roses with the help of their sucking tubes. These are small aphids which survive by sucking the juices from the plant. These small creatures are milked by the ants. The ants with the help of their antennae stroke and caress these aphids until they produce a small drop of white, sweet fluid. The aphids which live between the bark of tress are appropriated by the brown ant. The root feeding aphids are domesticated by the yellow ant. The aphids of rose bushes are protected by black garden ant or Lasius niger. This interesting relationship between the ants and the tiny aphids is described in the book "Ants, Bees, and Wasps."

Whether it's the modern or the ancient literature rose stands out in all. The rose is the most talked about flower in both forms of literature. A rose put over the door of a private or public banquet hall was of great significance for the Romans. Anyone who passed below it was not supposed to reveal anything that was done or said within. That's the reason that the phrase sub rosa is used till date.