ANTS. 



18 



ANTS. 



coarse enough to 

 admit the ants. 

 They will work 

 on these poison- 

 ous mixtures, 

 and carry them 

 home to their 

 young, with the 

 result that both 

 mature insects 

 as well as larvse 

 will be destroy- 

 ed, no matter 

 where the nest 

 may be. 



E. H. Schfeffle, 

 of Murphys, Cal- 

 ifornia, who rec- 

 ommends this 



THE AUTHORS' APIARY IN CUBA. 



method of feed- ^'""•^ ci^ht or ten years ago we owned and operated an apiary in Cuba, the same 

 run for honey as well as Ijees and queens; but tiie poor seasons finally com- 

 pelled us to al)aHdon it. . . The hives heie shown are in straight rows and 

 close tos'ether. Experience showed that this was a mistake, for there were 

 no d'stinji'uishing' ol)jects by which the bees could mark their homes, and as 

 a result theie was more or less confusion and robbing-. 



i n g a n ts with 

 poisoned sweets, 

 says the plan is 

 very effective, 

 for their visita- 

 tions will soon 

 cease. But he 

 stipulates that 

 the box contain- 

 ing the poison- 

 ous sweet should 

 be placed in the 

 trail of the ants. 

 When it does 

 not seem prac- 

 ticable to de- 

 stroy the pests 

 they may be kept 

 away from tlu' 

 hive temporarilv 

 by poiu'ing a lit- 

 tle narrow trail 

 of kerosene clear 



THE ROOF APlAliY oK C. H. W. WEBER, CINCINNATI, OHIO. 



around the hive ^'^ cities bees are often put on the roofs of the building's. In all such eases it 

 is advisable to provide shade, for the heal of the summer will he intense 



or hives. The in hot weather. If the roof becomes too hot for comfort it is advised to 

 paint it white. 



ants will D come 



up to the oily line, and there stoi). 



Mr. Poppleton, of Florida, has graphically 

 described in Glmnimjs the 



CARNIVOROUS .■VNTS. 



Witli one exception these ants are the worst ene- 

 mies bees have here in Florida, and only constant 

 vig:ilance from September to December inclusive 

 will prevent the loss of many colonies every season. 

 These ants are usually found in our hummock 

 lands, and only occasionally in clean pine woods; 

 are red in color; of very larg:e size, frequently mea- 

 suring' nearly or quite lialf an inch in length: are 

 strictly nocturnal in their liabits, lieing seldom seen 

 in daytime except when disturbed or waging battle 

 with .a colony of bees; are usually found in decayed 



wood, ihrougli which tliey cut out galleries for use 

 as livi; !g-apartnients. A favorite place is in a partly 

 decayed saw-palnief to root in the ground. Neai'ly 

 every cabbage-jialmetto tree contains a colony of 

 them among the boots near Its top, and for this rea- 

 son a thick palmetto grove is one of tlie worst places 

 an apiary can be located. They are also found in 

 piles of old boards, and on the ground under old 

 boards or logs. They also like to enter our liou«es 

 and locate in trunks, boxes, drawers, and in almost 

 any place where they can find a few inches of space 

 to occupy. They are freciuently found in the tops 

 of our liives if there is suflicient space above tlie 

 bees undei' the cover. 



At sundown they start on their nightly quest for 

 food; and if near an aniary a few of them will usu- 



