76 



POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



quite cold; that night there was a hard frost. The ants evidently 

 knew that this change in the weather was about to occur; therefore 

 they removed their property to a warm and sheltered place. I have 

 often watched the ants in autumn when the aphides were ovipositing; 

 the former would caress the latter, and seemingly would endeavor 



to stimulate and cheer them 

 during the operation. As soon, 

 however, as the eggs were de- 

 posited, the ants would seize 

 and carry them into the nest; 

 the aphis mother was left, with- 

 out any compunctions what- 

 ever, to die during the first 

 frost! Her life work had 

 ended, and the economv of Xa- 

 ture needed her no longer. 



Ants are always on the look- 

 out for the new colonies which 

 are continually being started 

 by the winged females. As 

 soon as one of these new herds 

 is found by an ant, she returns 

 to the nest and notifies her 

 companions. One or two ants 

 then accompany her to her newly found treasure, which in future is 

 always, night and day, under their watchful care. As the herd in- 

 creases in numbers, additional herdsmen, or rather dairymaids, are 

 called into service. 



Associated w 7 ith this species are commonly to be found other spe- 

 cies of aphides, notably the one which secretes, or rather excretes, 

 ;i white powdery substance which is to be seen on their backs in soft, 

 plumose masses. On microscopic examination this substance is 

 found to be fairly teeming with microbia. These microbes, at the 

 first glance, seem to be of different species; maturer judgment, how- 

 ever, declares them to be but metamorphic forms of the same in- 

 dividual. 



A " white " aphis can be seen in the photograph at the base of the 

 upper leaf stem. With a small pocket lens the details of this crea- 

 ture's structure can be easily made out. There are several of these 

 aphides on the vine, but the one mentioned is the largest and the 

 most conspicuous. They, are much larger than the neetar-producers, 

 are oval in shape, and distinctly flattened. In fact, in general out- 

 line they are strikingly like that bete noire of all good housekeepers — ■ 

 the Cimex lectularius. The ants frequently congregate about these 



IciixEisioN Fly laying Eggs on Aphides. 



