ANT COMMUNITIES 



veloped. In small nests one may observe this by turn- 

 ing over a flat stone on a bright spring day or in early 

 autumn, when the little heaps of white Iarva3 may be 



a 



Fig. 94 MITES THAT ATTACK ARTIFICIAL NEST OF HONEY-ANTS 



(GREATLY ENLARGED) 



a Dorsal view, b Ventral view, c Suckers on the same in 

 different degrees of extension, d Mites upon the cheek of a 

 honey-ant 



seen lying in the top galleries next the stone, whither 

 they have been brought from the underground rooms 

 for the sake of greater warmth and health. 



Ants enjoy these personal ablutions, as one readily 

 sees who closely observes them either in nature or in 

 artificial nests. While engaged therein they put them- 



282 



