THE ANTS OR PISMIRES 



ventilating shafts which maintain suitable conditions of 

 moisture, etc. 



The leaf-fragments brought in are chewed up and placed 

 in the chambers where a special fungus grows on them. This 

 is not a mere mould growing on decaying vegetable matter, 

 but a particular, very peculiar kind of fungus which seems 

 to be different for each sort of leaf-cutter. Indeed the fungus 

 is so peculiar that it is difficult to place in the botanical 

 system. Much of the nutriment of the fungus is provided 

 by the liquid faeces of the worker ants, which are added to 

 the leaves ; growth of the fungus penetrates all through the 

 mass of leaves and develops a number of little knobs, almost 

 like a cauliflower head, and on this all stages of the ants feed, 

 exclusively. Some of the youngest grubs may be fed on food 

 regurgitated by the workers, but the larger ones lie about 

 amongst the fungus on which they feed themselves. The 

 workers, as in so many ants, vary greatly in size. The 

 smallest ones stay in the nest, weed the fungus gardens of 

 moulds, and nurse the grubs ; the middle-sized ones, which 

 are the most numerous, cut and collect the leaves; the largest 

 ones with very big heads and mandibles guard the entrance 

 to the nest. 



When the female flies off on her marriage-flight, a small 

 pellet of fungus and debris is carried in the pocket which is 

 found in all ants beneath the mouth. After mating, she sheds 

 her wings, excavates a small underground chamber, and 

 ejects this pellet onto the floor. The fungus soon begins to 

 grow and is nourished with her liquid excrement. A piece 

 of the fungus is taken in her jaws from the growing sheet and 

 held against her anus from which a drop of clear yellowish 

 fluid is ejected. It is then replaced in the young fungus 

 garden and this may be repeated every hour or so. Thus this 

 manuring of the fungus is not an accident due to living in a 



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