200 AGRICULTURE ON THE PACIFIC SLOPE 



hollow thorns which serve for dwellings of an ant. 

 This ant is said to protect the tree against another 

 kind of ant which tries to cut out pieces of the leaves 

 and carry them to its nest. 



Ants are always friendly with others of the same nest, 

 but if another kind of ant is dropped into the nest, it 

 is at once killed. They seem to recognize each other 

 by the sense of smell. 



Inside the nest the young are very carefully looked 

 after. At night they are carried to the warmest part 

 of the nest, and the outer opening of the nest is pro- 

 tected. In the morning they are carried to the outer 

 chambers, or even placed in the sun. A change of 

 weather quickly sets the ants to work carrying the 

 young into the nest. 



Bees. Inside the door of a beehive certain bees 

 stand guard. If any insect which has no business there 

 tries to get in, they raise an alarm. Then the other 

 bees come and sting it to death. Sometimes a whole 

 army of bees of some other sort comes to rob the hive, 

 and then there is a fierce battle which may last for hours. 



When the bees come in with pollen and honey, they 

 go through a sort of dance before they unload it into a 

 cell of the comb. Some are at work all the time 

 building the comb, others carry them the wax to build 

 with, while still others make the wax. Some of them 

 go about cleaning up the hive, while others ventilate 

 it by standing at the door and forcing in fresh air by 



