88 THE STUDY OF ANIMAL LIFE CHAP. 



according to some, they inclose and tend these milch 

 kine, and even breed them at home. Seed-harvesting 

 and the like may be fairly called agricultural, and do not 

 the leaf-cutting ants grow mushrooms, or at least feed 

 on the fungi which grow on the leaves, stored, some say, 

 with that end in view ? The driver ants, " whose dread 

 is upon every living thing," when they are on the stam- 

 pede, remind us of the ancient troops of nomad hunters, 

 though some of them are blind. Thus there are hunting, 

 agricultural, and pastoral ants three types, as Lubbock 

 remarks, offering a strange analogy to the three great 

 phases in the history of human development. 



Very quaint is another habit of this " little people, so 

 exceeding wise," -that of keeping or tolerating guests in 

 the home ! These are mostly little beetles, and have 

 been carefully studied by Dr. Wasmann, who distinguishes 

 true guests (Atemeles., Lomechusa, Claviger) which are 

 cared for and fed by the ants, from others (Dinarda, 

 Hcetcrius, Formicoxenus) which are tolerated, though not 

 treated with special friendliness, and which feed on dead 

 ants or vegetable debris ; while a third set are tolerated 

 -like mice in our houses only because they cannot be 

 readily turned out. Of the genuine guests, the best 

 known is Atemeles, a lively animal, constantly moving 

 its feelers, and experimenting with everything. If one 

 be attacked by a hostile ant, it first seeks to pacify its 

 antagonist by antennary caresses, but if this is hopeless 

 it emits a strong odour, which seems to narcotise the 

 ant. These little familiars are really dependent upon 

 their hosts, who feed them and get caresses in return. 

 It is easy to understand the presence of pests in the ants' 

 home, but Atemeles and Lomechusa are pets, taken away 

 by the owners when there is a flitting, and exhibiting, 

 as Lubbock also observes, ' international relations," 

 since thev can be shifted from one nest to another, or 



> 



even from species to species. It seems likely enough, 

 as Emery suggests, that these semi-domesticated pets 

 arc moralised intruders, and, like our cats, they seem to 

 retain some of their original traits. 



We cannot linger longer over the interesting charac- 



