ANTS AND THEIR JnLCH-COWS. 545 



to SO romantic a story. It is, however, perfectly true, as 

 may be seen by the following extract from the ' Letters cf 

 Rusticus ' : — 



' Another odd station for Aphides is on the roots of plants. 

 I have found them by hundreds on a thistle-root, closely 

 packed together, and almost as white as snow. The other day 

 I pulled up a large thistle that grew on an ant-hill, and thus I 

 brought to light a whole colony of these white Aphides. I 

 had long knot^.'n of the great value which ants set on these 

 little beasts ; so I shook down some dozen of them from the 

 thistle-root, among the ants, which were all a-swarm at the 

 damage I had done to their dwelling. 



' No sooner were the ants aware of the presence of tlie 

 Aphides, than they began to fondle them with their legs, 

 sometimes positively taking them round the neck, to tap them 

 on the back with their antennae, and to lick them with theii 

 tongues ; they then took hold of them with their jaws and 

 lifted them from the ground, and carried them with the 

 greatest care, one by one, into the recesses of the nest. I 

 walked by the same way about three hours afterwards, and 

 found the nest all quiet and orderly, and not an Aphis was to 

 be seen. So I went to work with my knife and scraped down 

 the side of the hill. I soon came to the Aphides. They were 

 clustered together on little bits of thistle-root, which had 

 been broken off in the ground, and were attended by numbers 

 of ants. When the ants found their cattle were again in 

 jeopardy, they drew them gently from the root and carried 

 them still farther into the nest. 



' I am quite convinced that honey-dew is a secretion from 

 the Aphides, and that ants devour this honey-dew, and a 

 sweet, clear, liquid honey it is. I have often watched an ant 

 go from one Aphis to another, stand behind each, and gently 

 squeeze the body with its fore-legs ; perhaps one Aphis in ten, 

 not more, will give out a small drop of honey as clear as 

 crystal, which the ants instantly swallow. The ants take 

 much more care of the Aphides than the Aphides do of them- 

 selves ; they are sad, dull, stupid creatures. It is very pretty 

 to see the licking and washing and cleaning and caressing which 

 the ants constantly bestow on them. When the Aj)hides cast 



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