Vol. XXVII. 

 1910 



1 Lea, The Guests of Ants, Bees, and Termites-. 55 



are fairly common in nests, and these are the celebrated " cows " 

 of the ants. They are usually seen attached to roots, from the 

 immediate vicinity of which all the earth has been cleared away, 

 and the ants protect them on account of the nectar-like substance 

 (honey-dew) they exude. On turning over a stone it is not at all 

 uncommon to see hundreds of specimens attached to roots, with 

 the ants moving about them. The ants will frequently extend 

 their galleries on to trees to protect some particularly fancied 

 group of "cows," a favourite in this respect being the large 

 cottony-cushion scale, Icerya pzirchasi. 



Of the Hymeno'ptera some very curious forms have been seen 

 in nests, and probably many species could be reared from ant 

 pupse. Hitherto, however, very little attention has been paid to 

 these. In Tasmania one extremely minute species has been 

 obtained, with apparently only one pair of wings, but appearing 

 to belong to the Mymarides. Other interesting forms are quite 

 wingless. 



The larvae of several species of flies have been seen in nests, 

 but, so far, only one genus of these appears to have been reared 

 to maturity. The larvae of this genus are fairly large, flat on the 

 under surface and convex on the upper. The pupa is much like the 

 larva in appearance, but is covered with curious net-like markings, 

 which become very conspicuous after the flies emerge. The 

 curious so-called bee-louse {Braula, really a degraded fly), has 

 been obtained in Tasmania, but is an introduced species. 



A small wingless cricket is fairly common in the nests of some 

 species of ants in South xAustralia, Victoria, and New South 

 Wales, and, so far, appears to be the only orthopterous insect so 

 recorded. 



Lepidopterous larvae are occasionally to be seen in nests, and 

 a beautiful Queensland butterfly passes all its earlier stages in 

 nests of the well-known green tree-ant. 



In some nests Thysanura (minute spring-tail insects, of which 

 some ants'-nest species have been dealt with at length by 

 Lubbock) are to be obtained in abundance, and probably 

 hundreds of species actually occur in Australia. They are, 

 however, very active, and readily escape inexperienced hands. 

 Probably the best method of capturing them is to wet the tip of 

 the tweezers, or a small twig, with spirits, and touch them with it. 

 When placed in spirits they generally float for a little while. Some 

 yellow, actively-running species that look like small silver-fish are 

 fairly common in nests. 



Mites, or Acaridce, are to be found in any old-established 

 nest, and in some of them they swarm. A tortoise-like species, 

 of a bright red colour, with minute yellow dots, and fully as large 

 as the head of a common pin, is quite common in nests of the 

 soldier ant. Others of the same genus occur in nests of the 

 jumper ants and of the singular genus Amhlyopone. They are 



