4 BULLETIN 377, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



these balls disperse when they come into contact with a secure resting 

 place, such as a floating piece of timber or land, but they have been 

 seen to float around for hours on still water. Mr. Smith, at Daisy, 

 La., states that he destroyed a large number of these balls by pouring 

 some coal oil on the water. The balls quickly broke up when in con- 

 tact with the oil and the ants died in a very short time. 



Driftwood is another important carrier of this pest. A fallen 

 decayed log is an ideal nesting place. Such a log will usually decay 

 from the underside upward, the upperside or top making a roof for 

 the nest, with the rotted wood below drawing and retaining ample 

 moisture, thus affording excellent material in which to make galleries. 

 Logs of this kind are light and easily floated and are important 

 factors in spreading infestations. Especially is this the case in those 

 parts' of the country where heavy, flooding rains occur. In this 

 manner practically all the land along the Mississippi Eiver below 

 New Orleans has been infested. 



However, it is to the vehicles of man that the greatest distribution 

 must be credited. The most important are steamboats and rail- 

 roads. Commodities are carried from infested territory to uninfested 

 places and ant colonies are often to be found in shipping boxes, feed- 

 ing on sugar and other grocery supplies. Practically every one of 

 nearly a hundred steamboats landing between New Orleans and 

 Baton Rouge is infested with the Argentine ant. Further, it seems 

 likely that- this ant was carried by boat from Charleston, S. C., to 

 Wilmington, N. C., as the ant is to be found around the wharves and 

 shipping in both places. So gross is the infestation in both these 

 cities that it is possible that the species may have been introduced 

 into Charleston many years ago on coffee ships, as it is supposed to 

 have been introduced into New Orleans, the slightly colder winters 

 holding it more in check. 



When inspecting cities far removed from New Orleans it has been 

 found that in the great majority of instances the infestations start 

 immediately around the wholesale-grocery and commission-merchant 

 establishments. This indicates that when carried long distances the 

 ants are more likely to be taken through in solid carload lots of mer- 

 chandise which are rushed to their destination than in smaller con- 

 signments. This is especially the case with perishable goods such 

 as fruit and vegetables. Cars containing broken shipments are side- 

 tracked at the first town to which goods are consigned, and the ants 

 present are likely to leave the car at the first or second stop, which 

 fact is verified in that nearly all the small towns for a distance of 

 150 miles from New Orleans are infested. A serious feature of the 

 infestation of inland cities such as Texarkana, Memphis, Atlanta, 

 and others, is that the ants, having become established in the whole- 

 sale district, are readily distributed to surrounding smaller towns 



