212 RELATION OF ANTS 
movements I am about to describe. [ 
saw it, at first, pass, without stopping, 
some pucerons, which it did not how- 
ever disturb. It shortly after stationed 
itself near one of the smallest, and ap- 
peared to caress it, by touching the ex- 
tremity of its body, alternately with its 
antenne, with an extremely rapid move- 
ment. I saw, with much surprise, the fluid 
proceed from the body of the puceron, 
and the ant take it in its mouth. Its 
antenne were afterwards directed toa 
much larger puceron than the first, which, 
on being caressed after the same manner, 
discharged the nourishing fluid in greater 
quantity, which the ant immediately 
swallowed: it then passed to a third 
which it caressed, like the preceding, by 
giving it several gentle blows, with the 
antenns, on the posterior extremity of 
the body; the liquid was ejected at the 
same moment, and the ant lapped it up. 
It then proceeded to a fourth ; this, pro- 
bably already exhausted, resisted its 
action. The ant, who in all probability 
