114 Hyph^nosymphily 



in little aquaria among the leaves ! The story concerns 

 the alliance between a little moth called Wurthia and 

 an ant called Polyrhachis. The linkage is called by 

 the strange name Hyphjenosymphlly, which will be 

 explained presently. 



The ant in question is common in the coffee planta- 

 tions, where it is in the habit of making its nest on or 

 between the big leaves. This nest consists chiefly of 

 a web of whitish half-transparent threads, and these 

 are produced by the ant-grubs, just as in the case of 

 the tailor-ants. A worker seizes a grub by the back 

 and dabs its head against a leaf, whereupon the grub 

 reels off a silk thread. This is wonderful enough, but 

 it is familiar in the case of the tailor-ants, which use 

 their larvae in a similar way as animated gum-bottles ; 

 but now come the wheels within wheels. As Dr. Kem- 

 ner was watching the combined labors of the worker- 

 ants and the ant-grubs he noticed a larva that was 

 working by itself, but at the same job. A second 

 glance showed that it was not an ant-grub but a little 

 caterpillar. That let the cat out of the bag! The 

 caterpillar was helping in the construction of the 

 ants' nest. 



Further inquiry showed that various nests had 

 their partner caterpillars, partners in the sense that 

 they helped in spinning. The ants seemed to ignore 

 them, and yet the caterpillars were feeding on ant- 

 grubs all the time. The toleration is the more remark- 

 able since ants of this species show fierce and fatal 

 resentment if stranger ants intrude. But the cater- 

 pillars are allowed to go on their way without let or 



