COMSTOCK 



IXSECT STUDY 157 



be able to retard or hasten the growth of the young by regu- 

 lating the kind and quantity of food. They are very particular 

 about temperature and even more so about draughts on their 

 babies; so, in the ground nests, they carry them down to the 

 lower galleries during the heat of the day and bring them up 

 near the warm stones in the evening; in the Lubbock nests they 

 are always carrying the young about with reference to the wet 

 blotter or sponge. Tell in what ways the pupae differ from the 

 larvae; how long they remain in the pupa stage; the different 

 color and helplessness of the "callow", as the newly emerged 

 youngster is called; this, though as large as its sisters, seems 

 feeble and stupid and is tenderly waited on; crumpled leg and 

 antennae are straightened out and each is lick * J and brushed 

 from "tip to toe". 



If one has been so fortunate as to secure a queen when 

 getting the inhabitants for the nest, the attentions she receives 

 may be observed. Note that she has her own "royal apart- 

 ment" and is always surrounded by attendants who care as as- 

 siduously for her food and toilet as they do for the young. 



While watching the ants in the nest, it is well to keep an 

 eye on those that are free and out of doors. Perhaps one may 

 see them gathering honey-dew from the aphides, or "plant lice", 

 their "cows" which seem entirely willing to yield the sweet, and 

 in return are sheltered and moved to good feeding grounds by 

 the ants, who will also fight against and destroy the insect ene- 

 mies of the aphides. This partnership between the ants and the 

 aphides is one of the most interesting in nature, and has helped 

 to put the ant on the wrong side of the economic question. 



II. STUDY OF A MOTH 



A very interesting experiment for the schoolroom is the 

 rearing of a moth or butterfly from the caterpillar or even from 

 the egg. Not many species may be observed in all their phases 

 of life, so late as the beginning of the school year, but among the 

 few is that common, but very interesting moth, Telea poly- 

 ph emus. Polyphemus caterpillars may be found from June 

 till late October and the eggs may be discovered on the under 

 sides of the leaves, on which it feeds, as late as August or in 

 early September. 



If, by any turn of the world's great wheel of fortune, this 

 country should be deprived of the product of Chinese silk- 

 worms, here is the species which could supply that luxury in 



