29 7he South Australian Naturalist. 



Durino' my visit to the Murray River last November, par- 

 ticular attention was paid to the ants and their method of ex- 

 tracting food from creatures that are totally different from 

 them, both in form and liabit. The larvie of the red and black 

 froghoi)])er (Eurymela rubrovittata) was very plentiful, and 

 afforded good subject matter for my observations. A sugar 

 ant (Camponotus sp.) would, with its long antennae, rapidly 

 jrlroke the sides and back of the troghopper, until it discharged 

 from its posterior a thick yellowish fluid, which was greedily 

 consumed by the ant. The froghopper, while it is being milked 

 by its hungry friends, is all the while feeding from the tree on 

 which it is found, its long beak being placed at righ angles to 

 its body, and embedded into the stem or base of the leaf upon 

 which it is clinging. These creatures seem to give up a con- 

 siderable quantity of this liquid : one was under observation for 

 some considerable time, and when an ant had its appetite 

 aj)|)eased another would immediately take its ])lace, and at one 

 time there were three greedily drinking up the fluid discharged 

 by the frogliopper. 



The ants are certainly the masters of these homopterous 

 insects, who, so long as they perform their duty by sup])lying 

 food, are treated kindly by the ants; but if they refuse their 

 masters a])pear to have a way of making them obey. Here is 

 f.ne instance which came under observation : An ant approached 

 a froghopi)er, which, after being stroked in the usual way, 

 refused to discharge its fluid. This apparently annoyed the 

 ant, Aviiich l)egan ni})ping it with its strong mandibles, and the 

 froghopper, resenting this treatment, kicked out at the ant, 

 much in the same way as a cow kicks, but the ant continued its 

 {Muiishment until the froghopper began to discharge food for 

 its tormentor. 



PLANTS AT HOME— THE MONARTO DISTRICT. 



By Ernest H. Ising. 



Tlie study of plants growing in tlieir natural habitat, together Avith the 

 vaiions factors concerned in tlieir life history, is termed ''Ecology.'' The 



Avord is derived from the Greek: , meaning a house, and . 



meaning discourse — i.e., the study of a plant 's surroundings and environ- 

 ment. The factors conceriied ar^" many, and may b: briefly summarised as 

 follovi': — 



], Geographical distribution. 



1. On plains, including the coast. 



2. In mountain ranges, having — 



(a) Good rainfall, such as Mount Lofty Eange. 



(b) Poor rainfall, such as Flinders Eange. 



3. Open grassland (steppe). 



4. Desert areas. 



