THE KANSAS UNIVERSITY 



SCIENCE BULLETIN 



Vol. XIV.] October, 1922. [No. 11. 



Some Biological Notes on Philippine Zoology. 



BY FRANCIS X. WILLIAMS. 



THESE few notes are very fragmentary and not all the data are 

 derived from original investigations. They are set forth, how- 

 ever, in hopes that the reader who has not visited the tropics will 

 find something of interest in them. The writer has spent the total 

 of about two years in the Philippines, chiefly at Los Baiios, Luzon, 

 and thus has* become acquainted with some features of the natural 

 history of this very rich locality. 



ANTS. 



It is quite evident that the ant is well off in the tropics. An 

 abundance and variety of food, as well as great diversity of condi- 

 tions, suit the needs of the multitude of its species and make this 

 family of insects a most conspicuous one. Many ants are harmless, 

 or even beneficial, while others are a great pest in the house or in 

 the field. 



The well-known, red tree ant, (Ecophylla smaragdina Fab. (Cam- 

 ponotinse) is occasionally a decided nuisance along the outskirts of 

 the forest and in portions of cultivated districts near by. This ag- 

 gressive insect has at least one thing in its favor, for while it bites 

 viciously, it cannot sting. It is a tolerably large, long-legged crea- 

 ture that lives on trees and bushes, where it constructs an ample 

 ball-like nest of leaves spun together with the silk of its larvae, 

 which are carried about by the workers as this silk is needed. 

 (Ecophylla frequently swarms on tree trunks and foliage, and so a 

 passer-by may unknowingly gather some up; of these a few will 

 eventually and unnoticed gain a point of vantage on his person, as 

 the back of the neck, and there bestow a vicious and startling nip. 

 Certain homopterous bugs that produce honeydew are attractive to. 



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