ANIMAL BEHAVIOR, V/ITH EXAMPLES 175 



sion. This time it was the acorn moth, Holcocera glandulella. 

 She found the interior of the acorn a suitable place to rear her 

 grub, so she merely deposited her egg in the hole. For a time 

 the grub, upon hatching from the egg, fed upon the remnants 

 of the meal left by the weevil. Finally, the ants moved in and 

 were content to live among the powdered debris left by the 

 moth larva. It is clear then that three distinct species of 

 insects had each in their turn lived in the acorn quarters. 



After learning these facts, I made further search among the 

 acorns under the same tree, with the result that I found a number 

 of other similar ant colonies which had likewise chosen infested 

 nuts in which to establish their homes. Whether this is a 

 habit confined to ants in this immediate locality, or a habit 

 common to the species generally, has not been fully determined. 

 When one remembers that squirrels and the red-headed wood- 

 pecker will often avoid molesting infested nuts, it will be seen 

 that the quarters chosen by the weevil, moth, and ant tenant 

 are apparently quite safe from the attacks of these larger 

 enemies. 



