.'>fi 



pests remained and the ants gradually dispersed Avithout 

 any way molesting the fish. (K 



Dnring dry weather the ants often come into the houjl'i ' 

 after water, and I have fonnd them swarming over tll^s* 

 inverted drinking-glass. On one occasion, when taking a drii 

 in the dark, I felt a gritty substance in my month from tl 

 edge of the ghiss, and upon investigation in the light 1 four 

 that I had devoured a few dozen ants. Fortunately, they ha^ 

 no taste, so, if we did not know that they were present, ^\ 

 might eat them with impunity. 



It is in their relation to our pests out-of-doors that an- 



of this species have demonstrated their great usefulness. A 



early as 1852, Professor Heer observed that they held a^ 



important economic position, for they attacked many of thf 



most destructive pests, and no insect appeared to be too larg 



for them. Even in their activities against house-flies, whici 



I have recorded (1913), they render a most valuable service 



For the breeding possibilities of this pest, if uncontrolled, i:' 



tropical countries, would be inestimable. ; 



f 

 As pointed out by Dr. Perkins (1913) there are verl? 



few of the native insects that can long resist this predatorii 



and the same might be said for some of our introduced specieejli 



Even insects as big and powerful as our mole cricket {Gryll<^\ 



talpa africana) are destroyed. I have several times observeci' 



these crickets in the clutches of the ants, on sandy soil, an(i| 



they appeared to be powerless to throw off their little tori 



mentors. In one instance I counted sixteen ants on one lej^t 



and there appeared to be as many on each of the other append' 



ages, including the cerci. In their struggle to hold the preyi 



the ants seized upon every bit of rubbish that came in theii 



way, so that the cricket was soon weighted down and tired out, 



carrying this load. He made many attempts to get into the 



soil but the mass of ants kept their hold upon him until the 



soldiers succeeded in ])uncturing the Avail of his abdomen, after 



which the struggle was brief. Cardin (1913) has reported that 



the ants are the most dreaded enemies of a mole cricket, in 



Cuba, and he partly attributes the scarcity of this pest, in 



that country to them, j 



