72 EGGS OF APHIDES KEPT THEOUaH 



made the best of their r/ay out of the nest, and, indeed, 

 were sometimes brought out by the ants themselves. 

 In vain 1 tried them with roots of grass &c. ; they 

 wandered uneasily about, and eventually died. More- 

 over, they did not in any way resemble the subterranean 

 species. In 1878 1 again attempted to rear these 

 young aphides ; but though I hatched a great many 

 eggs, I did not succeed. In 1879, however, I was more 

 fortunate. The eggs commenced to hatch the first 

 week in March. Near one of my nests of Lasius 

 ftavus, in which I had placed some of the eggs in 

 question, was a glass containing living specimens of 

 several species of plant commonly found on or around 

 ants' nests. To this some of the young aphides were 

 brought by the ants. Shortly afterwards I observed on 

 a plant of daisy, in the axils of the leaves, some small 

 aphides, very much resembling those fi'om my nest, 

 though we had not actually traced them continuously. 

 They seemed thriving, and remained stationary on the 

 daisy. Moreover, whether they had sprung from the 

 black eggs or not, the ants evidently valued them, for 

 they built up a wall of earth round and over them. 

 So things remained throughout the summer ; but on 

 the 9th October I found that the aphides had laid some 

 eggs exactly resembling those found in the ants' nests ; 

 and on examining daisy-plants from outside, I found 

 on many of them similar aphides, and more or less of 

 the same eggs. 



I confess these observations surpris'jd me very much. 



