142 . CIVIC BIOLOGY 



Three species, the red ant, little black ant, and pavement 

 ant, are common household pests which can easily be looked 

 up in state or national bulletins if they are locally important. 1 

 Serious damage is sometimes inflicted by the corn-root louse 

 (Aphis maidi-radicis). The eggs of this aphid are cared for 

 over winter by the common brown ant (Lasius brunneus). They 

 hatch early in the spring and the ants carry the young aphids to 

 various grasses and weeds in the field, and later transfer them 

 to the roots of the corn. Concerted work of farmers over an 

 infested area by early spring plowing and repeated disk har- 

 rowing, so that no weeds are allowed to grow before the corn 

 is planted, effectually controls both ants and aphids. This 

 topic is well adapted to laboratory demonstration and experi- 

 ment in infested districts and where education is needed to 

 secure general cooperation. 



The chief interest, however, attaching to a study of ants 

 is their seeming intelligence and wonderfully perfect civic 

 organization of the colony. 



The colony. Ant colonies are composed of queens, males, and 

 workers. Queen ants are usually larger, are wingless when 

 mature, and sometimes live fifteen years ; the males are smaller, 

 always winged, and never live more than one year. The workers 

 may be distinguished readily from the queens and males by their 

 small size and lack of wings. They do all the work of caring 

 for the queen and her young, gathering food, building and de- 

 fending the nest, caring for plant lice (aphids), and waging war. 



Before mating, the queens have wings. In the summer and 

 early fall clouds of young queens and males leave the differ- 

 ent colonies, flying in thousands. The flight over, the queen 

 is either adopted by an old colony or establishes a new one. 

 When once established, she removes her wings and never 

 leaves the colony. While there is usually but one queen in a 

 colony, there may be as many as thirty. 



1 Hodge, Nature Study and Life, p. 86 ff. 



