298 



THE AGEICULTURAL NEWS. 



.September 12, 1914. 



INSECT NOTES. 



THE ACROBAT ANT. 



There i.s in Barbados a small blaek ant whiih often carries 

 its abdomen turned up over the thorax or, as it is commonly 

 descrilieil, it walks with its tail turned up. This is the 

 acrobat ant, which belong.s to the genus C'remastogaster. 

 Tliere are probably several species of ants of this genus in 

 the islands of the Lesser Antilles, and it may lie that the 

 small, shining, black one, so common in Barliados, occni's in 

 other islands. This ant does not invade houses, as a rule, 

 but is to be found on all out^buildings, verandahs, fences, 

 walls and palings, and trees, on roots and in the ground. 

 It will be found to have nests, that is, groups of ants 

 with larvae and pupae, nnder bits of baik on tree trunks and 

 wherever any pieces of board have been nailed together or 

 nailed to a tree. They live inside the .stems and branches of 

 dead jilants both fallen and standing, and are to be found 

 even inside living wood. They become so numerous in places, 

 that it is impossible to touch the jalants, vines, and trees, or 

 fences, etc., where they occur without getting a good many of 

 tlion. 



The Kcrobat ant is not a stinging ant, but it is able 

 tf. inflict a feeble bite, and when one is suliject to the com- 

 bined bites of .several hundred of them at the .same time, they 

 are very noticeable. 



It is not quite certain what this in.sect eat.s. It is 

 almost always to be found on plants infested with .scales, 

 mealy-luig and aphis, and these probably, in some manner, 

 provide them with food. They ha\-e also Ijeen oliserveil 

 gathered about any injury on a plant where sap was exuding 

 in such a way as to give the impression that they were 

 drinking it. 



iSfime time ago a lime tree was ])nined and a cut left 

 without being tarred. This was about 1 to 1| inches in 

 di;imetei-, and should have healed over readily, but instead of 

 doing so it died Viack some 6 inches, and the cut end was 

 covered over with a woody material much like that of which 

 termites build their nests. 



When this dead portion of tlie branch was cut 

 off and s|jlit opei;, it was found to be hollow at the 

 centre, inhabited by the acrobat ant, and there were 

 mealy-bugs inside. Examinations of this and many others 

 since, indicate that this ant is injurious to plants, chiefly 

 because it prevents cuts and wounds in the bark from 

 healing over. Perhaps the cambium at the point where callus 

 is being formed is an attractive food for the ants. At any 

 rate, they s-eem to prevent all wounds from healing over, and 

 in this way they are causing a considerable injury to trees 

 of all kinds. 



In addition to the injury to trees, they seem to hasten 

 tlie decay of timber. When they occur in large numliers 

 in the joints of the timber in out-buildings, fences, etc., these 

 appear to rot more quickly. 



It seems to be the general belief that the acrobat ant 

 has been introduced into Barbados recently. It has been well- 

 known for some fifteen to twenty years, but has become more 

 abundant, and perhaps more gentrally (listribHte<l within 

 the last few years. This is likely to be a difficult insect U< 

 contnil, for on account of its habit of living in small comnnnii 

 tics where the young are reared, it is not possible to treat the 

 nests .satisfactorily. In one instance, wheie a fair trial <>f 

 this method wa.s made, no good result was obtained. 

 Thousands of nests were destroyed by kerosene, but so many 

 of the same kind of nests were not found that the diminution 

 in numbers of the ants was very slight. 



Poisoning so far has given no results. A tiial was made 

 of a weak poison .such as is used with success for the 

 Argentine Ant (s«te Ai/ricnltural News, Vol. X, p. .346). 

 This was a pc>ison bait of sugar and arsenic, but it did 

 not attract the ants. Fresh meat was quickly attacked 

 by them, but when this was boiled with a poi.son it was 

 not eaten. 



Planters and others in these islands interested, should 

 make observations on the acrobat ants a-s to whether' they 

 are injurious to trees in the same way as the Barliados 

 species, and care should be taken not to introduce them into 

 any Ir.cality where they do not at present exist. 



AGRICULTURAL CREDIT, 



THE INDIAN CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES 



ACT, 1912. 



The state of co-operative credit in India up to the 

 tiuu- of the passing of this Act was dealt witli in the 

 last issue of the Agricnltural Nnvs. The following 

 article, taken from the Monthlii Bulletin of ISocial unci 

 Efiinomic Intelligence, compares the provi.sions of the 

 1912 Act with those of the Act passed in 1!)02:— 



Experience in the working of the earlier Act had shown 

 the desirability of widening its scope and amending some of 

 its detailed provisions. The .Vc't was accordingly repealed 

 an<l replaced by a new Act entitled 'The Co-operative Societies 

 .\ct. 1912', which came into force on .July 1, 1912. The 

 earlier Act is entitled 'The Co-operative Credit Societies Act, 

 1904', iind the ditlerence in the titles of the two Acts marks 

 the first change. The new Act |jrovides for the i-egistration 

 of any .Society 'which has as its oliject the promotion of the 

 economic interest of its memliers in accordance with co-oper- 

 ative princi])les or any Society established with the object of 

 facilitating the operations of such a Society.' All forms of 

 co-operation, therefore, are recognizetl, incluiling t'lj-nperative 

 credit. The distinction between urban and rural societies is 

 dropped, but the provision that agricultural credit societies 

 shall generally be founded on uidimited liability, is retained. 

 .\ new feature of the Act is the recognition of societies, th& 

 members of which are other co-operative societies, and a sharp 

 distinctiiin is drawn between s icieties compo.sed exclusively of 

 individuals and societies in which any one member is a regis- 

 tered society. The changes already enumei-ated, as well as- 

 some amendments of minor inqtortance, may be shown by 

 conq)aring certain clauses in the new Act with the corres]x>nd- 

 iiig cUuises in the i>ld, arranging the text in parallrl culunin.s. 



.\ct 1904. Act 191:!. 



siH-Tiri.i:. 

 An Act to pro\i(le for the An Act to amend the Law 



constitution an<l control of relating to ( 'o-i.prrative So- 

 Co-operative Credit Societies. cieties. 



CONSTITrTto.N OK SOCIETIES. 



.\ society shall consist of Xo society, other than 



tm or more persons al>o\'e a society of which a member 

 the age of eighteen years. is a registered society, .shall 



be registereil under this Act 

 which does not consist of at 

 least ten persons above the 

 age of eighteen years and, 

 where the object of the so- 



