138 LIFE STORIES OF AUSTRALIAN INSECTS 



ing round a leaf. It stepped across to the next 

 leaf on which was a single gravel ant (Iridiomyr- 

 mex). The gravel ant rushed at the bulldog ant, 

 and the latter hastily retired to the nearest leaf. A 

 friend who was also watching remarked : "Well, I 

 have never seen a bully so easily worsted." We 

 saw also a tall Eucalyptus tree badly infested with 

 the loose cottony scale which was on branches and 

 leaves, and the gravel ants (which we traced to a 

 nest near) were literally swarming over the tree. 



Another curious example of special food is seen 

 in tropical America. A group of ants called the 

 Attii cut off pieces of leaves of plants, cut and knead 

 them and place them in their nests. Fungi grow 

 on these and the ants feed on this growth, and 

 feed the ant babies with semi-masticated fungal 

 material. In Mexico these ants cause considerable 

 damage in defoliating certain trees. 



The varied diet of ants enables them to live with- 

 out making large stores. There are examples of 

 ants which store food, however, the "Harvesting 

 Ants" which feed on the seeds of grass and cereals, 

 have special chambers set apart as "granaries." 

 The larvae and the adults are fed from the stores, and 

 as the diet is restricted it is necessary to store the 

 seeds while they are in season. 



A wonderful example of a living store house is 

 seen in a species of Camponotus. (See Plate 20, 

 Figs 3 and 4.) It is figured and described by 

 Lubbock in his "Bees, Ants and Wasps." Froggatt 

 thus describes our Australian example: "The ordin- 

 ary members of the "honey pot" ant are of the usual 



