THE FUNGUS-GROWING ANTS. 



33 



female has completed her burrow, and the first pupae appear about a 

 month after the inception of the colony. At this time the fungus 

 garden has a diameter of only 2 cm. There are no " kohlrabi " cor- 

 puscles in the earlier stages, and when first seen they are at the periphery 

 of the disk. A week later the pupae begin to turn brown and in a few 

 days the first workers hatch. Hence the time required for the estab- 

 lishment of a colony under the most favorable conditions is about forty 

 days. After this* rapid survey of the matter, Huber asks the impor- 

 tant question: How does the .Itta female manage to keep the fungus 

 alive and growing? Obviously the small amount of substance in the 

 original pellet must soon be exhausted and the growing hyprue must 



! I 



FIG. 199. Male, dealated female, soldier and series of workers of Atta te.rana ; 

 natural size. (Photograph by A. L. Alelander and C. T. Brues.J 



be supplied with nutriment from some other source. His interesting 

 answer to this question may be given in his own words: "After care- 

 fully watching the ant for hours she will be seen suddenly to tear a 

 little piece of the fungus from the garden with her mandibles and hold 

 it against the tip of her gaster, which is bent forward for this purpose. 

 At the same time she emits from her vent a clear yellowish or brownish 

 droplet which is at once absorbed by the tuft of hyphae. Hereupon the 

 tuft is again inserted, amid much feeling about with the antennas, in 

 the garden, but usually not in the same spot from which it was taken, 

 and is then patted in place by means of the fore feet. The fungus 

 then sucks up the droplet more or less quickly. Often several of these 



