Ch. V.] LEAF-CUTTING ANTS. 71 



productions of one country on the soil of some distant one 

 study the mutual reactions of plants and animals, they 

 will find that in the case of many plants it is important 

 that the insects specially adapted for the fertilisation of 

 their flowers should be introduced with them. Thus, if 

 the insect that assists in the fertilisation of the vanilla 

 could be introduced into India, the growers of that plant 

 would be relieved of much trouble, and it might be 

 thoroughly naturalised. Judging from my experience, 

 it would be useless to attempt the acclimature of the 

 scarlet -runner bean in Chontales unless the humble-bee 

 was also introduced. 



Caterpillars, plant-lice, bugs, and insect pests of all 

 kinds were numerous, and did much harm to my garden; 

 but the greatest plague of all were the leaf-cutting ants, 

 and I had to wage a continual warfare against them. 

 During this contest I gained much information regarding 



O o o <_> 



their habits, and was successful in checking their ravages ; 

 I shall occupy, therefore, the remainder of this chapter 

 with an account of them. 







LEAF-CUTTING ANTS. Nearly all travellers in tropical 

 America have described the ravages of the leaf-cutting 

 ants (CEcodoma) ; their crowded, well-worn paths through 

 the forests, their ceaseless pertinacity in the spoliation of 

 the trees more particularly of introduced species which 

 are left bare and ragged, with the midribs and a few 

 jagged points of the leaves only left. Many a young 

 plantation of orange, mango, and lemon trees has been 

 destroyed by them. Again and again have I been told 

 in Nicaragua, when inquiring why no fruit-trees were 

 grown at particular places, " It is no use planting them ; 



