INJURIOUS INSECTS OF 1903. 165 



Unprotected honey or very weak colonies may possibly some- 

 times suffer at the hands or rather at the mouths of the ants; 

 but unprotected honey should be put out of the way of ants, and 

 weak colonies should be treated in the various ways known to 

 the wide awake bee keeper. 



Ants seen ascending and descending fruit and other trees are 

 not injuring the tree, or, at least, only indirectly. They are after 

 tlie plant lice which will almost invariably be found on trees 

 frequented by ants. These plant lice yield a sweet honey dew, 

 of which the ants are very fond. Indeed, so partial are they to 

 this sweet liquid that they have been known to care for some 

 species of plant lice, taking their eggs below ground at the ap- 

 proach of cold weather. We have therefore spoken of them as 

 only indirectly injurious in tliat they are inclined to care for an 

 insect, the plant louse, which is decidedly destructive. 



While it is perfectly easy to take care of ants on the lawn or 

 in the garden, treatment for the small ants which enter the 

 house and attack sweet foodstuffs, such as sugar or syrup, is a 

 more difficult matter. The trouble in such cases lies in the diffi- 

 culty of getting at the nest. When the nest cannot be located, 

 temporary relief can sometimes be obtained by placing pieces 

 of sponges, which have been moistened with sweetened water, 

 in places frequented by ants, collecting same several times dur- 

 ing the day, and killing the ants collected thereon by throwing 

 the pieces of sponge into hot water. 



S<^me relief is obtained l)y changing the location of the sugar 

 or the syrup can or molasses jug. The odor of camphor is said 

 to be obnoxious to them, and it is claimed they can be kept away 

 b\' bits of camphor jilaced in the pantry and elsewhere where 

 they are troublesome. Placing the legs of the table or cupboard 

 holding the substance attractive to ants in pans of water, the 

 water preferably covered with a little kerosene, has been prac- 

 ticed with success. 



To insure permanent relief, however, the nest must be found. 

 If the ants can be traced to an out-of-door nest, that can be 

 easily destroyed by the method mentioned. If, however, the nest 

 is located in the walls of a house or under flooring, as is some- 

 times the case, the matter is more difficult, sometimes calling 

 for the removal of a portion of the floor. Bisulphide of carbon 



