TAILORS 205 



for its presence in the ant-infested woods is that 

 it spends the larval and pupal parts of its existence 

 actually in the nests of the Wood Ants. 



Ants' nests harbour a number of other insects, 

 some of which are messmates whose presence is 

 cherished by the ants, some enemies, and some 

 whose class has not yet been determined. The 

 presence of Clythra larva in the nest has long 

 been a well-known fact ; but why it was there and 

 what it did for a living were problems. It was 

 known that the larva protected itself by constructing 

 a leathery case, and this seemed to imply that its 

 relations with the ants were not of the friendliest 

 character ; but beyond that, little was known. 

 Recently Donisthorpe in the course of his investiga- 

 tions into the economy of the ants and their lodgers, 

 has filled in some of the outlines with facts. He 

 says of Clythra : 



" The beetle itself feeds on the young leaves and 

 shoots of birch-trees, etc. Its female seeks a tree 

 or shrub, above or near a nest of the Wood Ant, 

 and drops her eggs on the ground. She covers the 

 eggs, which she holds with her back feet, with 

 excrementitious matter, which she arranges in 

 layers. This makes them resemble a small bract, 

 or part of a plant ; in fact, they look exactly like 

 the end of a birch catkin. The ants pick this 

 up and carry it into the nest, as they do with bits 

 of vegetable refuse. 



" When the young grub hatches, it builds a 

 small black case on the covering of the egg. This 



