THE GARDEN ANT 169 



One year in October, after the first rain of the season, I 

 found several different shapes. One was a perfect cone 

 with a small door at the top; one was a round chimney, 

 but most of them were the shape of a toadstool with one 

 side removed. 



ALBERT. Yes. When they dump the dirt over the top 

 it rolls down or is tramped down, if dry, but sticks and 

 makes an over-jetting roof if wet. 



CECIL. Some of these wet craters are an inch or more 

 high. I've seen these ants work in a drizzle and build such 

 a crater in twenty-four hours. The royalty often walk 

 over the crater at such times. 



ALBERT. As such craters are so steep on the inside 

 the ants can't have a pile of stone by the door, they fill up 

 the inside of the crater until the slope is more gentle. 



CECIL. One year, after the first rain, I counted twenty- 

 six nests along a footpath, but only one right in it. At the 

 same time, and on the same lot, I counted forty little 

 mounds thrown up by the queens of this ant for new 

 homes. They didn't mine an inch deep. They chose a time 

 when mining was easy. 



KENNETH. One day they tried another scheme against 

 the unwelcome Acrobats. They plugged up the door tight, 

 opened another a half inch away, built a solid pyramid of 

 stones and dirt over the new door, and then plugged up 

 the final entrance. 



CECIL. Yes, and at night time the Acrobats came as 

 usual, but couldn't get the old door open. They all went 

 away but four, and these worked for three hours, and I 

 don't know how much longer, tunneling under the pyramid 

 of stones, but failed to open the new door. 



DOROTHY. I'd like to see the Acrobats get the good 



