ALIEN ASSOCIATES AND AFFINITIES 



of position without the creature losing its hold. [W. 

 6, p. 45.] 



The experimenter transferred a colony of the ants to 

 an artificial nest for observation, and fed them with a 

 number of young larva^ of the ant Camponotus maccooki. 

 These the Pachycondylse proceeded to tear to pieces, 

 freely lapping the exuding juices. Then they placed the 

 pulpy remainders in the ventral surface of their own 

 larvae (as on a serving-dish), which lay upon their backs 

 in a chamber dug in the earth of their nest. This 

 chamber was so situated under the glass cover that the 

 actions of both ants and larvae could be observed dis- 

 tinctly. The ant larva? thrust out their brown heads 



*/ 



and began to feed. The Dipteron larvae, by some un- 

 known sense made conscious of the presence of food, 

 unloosed their heads and necks without releasing their 

 caudal attachment, and dipped their beaks into the 

 mess. Thus the two young creatures so widely apart in 

 structure and destiny were here united in their cradle- 

 life and became fellow-trenchermen. 



The experiment was repeated a number of times, and 

 with various sorts of food. The result was always the 

 same. To quote the picturesque language of the ob- 

 server, he was always "able to witness the strange 



cr) 



banquet the dwarf reaching from the shoulder of the 

 ogre, and helping himself from the charger formed by 

 the trough-like belly of his host." Pieces of ant larvae, 

 beetle larva 4 , myriapods, etc., when served up to the 

 Pachycondyla larvae, were partaken of with equal zest 

 by larval host and guest. The latter were thus shown 

 to be true commensals - ' perhaps the most perfect 

 commensals, in the original sense of the word, to be 



found in the whole animal kingdom." 



237 



