l68 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [June, 



home with them to their own colony, where they are cared for as 

 though they were one of their own. In this way many colonies 

 become mixed. In animated nature there is nothing that has so 

 much affection for and takes so much care of, its young, as do 

 the ant family. The young forms of ants that are captured in 

 this way are tenderly cared for, and taught the language of the 

 colony in which it is living, and so lives in peace and happiness; 

 but if we should take any of the adult species from a strange 

 colony and put them with another foreign to their own, they will 

 be immediately attacked, killed, or driven out, in most cases the 

 former. It would make but little difference with which species 

 we may experiment, it will terminate with the like results. On 

 the other hand, we may put strange larvae and pupae with other 

 ants, and of an entirely different species; the young forms will be 

 taken in and tenderly cared for as if they were their own, and 

 reared up with that colony, and be able to speak their language 

 and will live perfectly contented with them. We may take again 

 the Aphides, properly called the ant's cows, of which Dr. Bree 

 said that all of the stories told about Aphides being treated as 

 milk cows are myths, by reason of inaccurate observations, 

 " Nature,'' vol. vi, p. 279, 1872. Aphis is of a different order 

 of insects, widely separated from that of the ants, and most as- 

 suredly use a different language from that of the ant tribe. That 

 ants are endowed with the highest degree of intelligence, of all 

 the insect kingdom, is a well proven fact. Collect particular 

 species of Aphides and their eggs, place them in their nests where 

 the Aphides are provided with natural food, and their eggs in a 

 place of safety ; this is usually done in the Fall of the year. 

 Some of these eggs will hatch in the ants' nests, and are cared 

 for by the ants, and those that do not hatch are again carried out 

 when the weather permits, in Spring, together with the adult 

 Aphides and placed upon such food-plants as are necessary for 

 them. This they keep on year after year, associated together, 

 understanding each other, the Aphides rendering to the ants their 

 sweet nectar, and the ants in turn providing food and shelter and 

 protection to them. Ants seldom collect adult species of insects 

 for the purpose of domesticating them. They prefer in most 

 instances to obtain the egg, larva or pupa, so that they may be 

 more easily brought up in their way, and more easily taught 

 their language. In some instances they do collect the adult spe- 



