3.50 



ANTS. 



gatt ( 1900). \vlio ha- given us an excellent account of these insects, a 

 -ingle per-on may collect as much as two to three pounds of this manna 

 in a day. Two closely related species, Spondyliaspis eucalypti and .V. 

 inaiinifcni. which, like many of the Australian Psyllids, feed on various 

 Eucalypti, are the most active producers of lerp. Of course, such a 

 substance could hardly fail to attract ants. Nevertheless, the recorded 

 observations on the relations of these insects to Psyllids appear to he 

 rather meager. Froggatt describes the larvae of Conictopsylla rufa. 

 which excretes a very crystalline and brittle lerp, as smothered with 

 numbers of Iridoinynnc.v piirpnreiis, which feed upon the excretions 

 and protect the Psyllids "to some extent." Concerning Tliea fonnicosa 

 he says: "The larvae form no lerp but hide under loose bits of bark 



on the trunks of several white-stemmed gums 

 [Eucalypti], thickly enveloped in white rlocculent 

 matter, thickest round the abdomen, which ex- 

 udes from beneath their shelter and reveals their 

 hiding place, and when abundant dots the trunks 

 all over with white blotches. Other colonies are 

 found congregated on the stems of small trees, 

 where they are frequently covered by ants with a 

 thick felted sheath of woody debris, sometimes 

 extending for four or five feet from the ground 

 and completely sheltering them. The ants, Irido- 

 inynne.r nitidns Mayr, swarm over them in this 

 covered gallery, and evidently protect them for 

 the sake of the honey-dew that is secreted." The 

 " sheath of woody debris " here described is. of 

 course, a "tent" or "cow-shed," like those built 

 by our northern ants over aphids and coccids. 



. .. 



co. opffca, though less abundant than in. jor- 



FIG. 210. Lycaenid 



caterpillar. (Original.) 



a, Mouth-shaped orifice uiicosa, is found in similar localities, and is 



of median honey-gland . , . . ,, ,-, 



on antepenultimate seg- always covered with ants. Our northern Psyl- 



ment; b, one of the lidse, especially the pear-tree Psvlla (Ps. p\ri- 



pairs of extensile or- ... ... , . 



gans on the penulti- c ' a ^ which excretes great quantities ot honey- 

 mate segment. dew, are in all probability occasionally attended 



by ants. 



The relations of the ants to the tree-hoppers (Membracidae, Cer- 

 copidae ) are but little known, as these insects are abundant only 

 in warm countries. Lund long ago found that the Cercopidie and 

 Membracidae take the place of aphids in the lives of many Brazilian 

 ants, and P.elt (18/4) described the relations of the Membracids of 

 Nicaragua to specie- of Phcidolc and Dolichoderus. More recently 



