PERFECT SOCIETIES OF INSECTS. 89 



to another, and so on, till being satiated it returns to 

 the nest. 



Not only the aphides yield this repast to the ants, but 

 also the Cocci, with whom they have recourse to similar 

 manoeuvres, and with equal success; only in this case 

 the movement of the antennae over their body may be 

 compared to the thrill of the finger over the keys of a 

 piano-forte. 



But you are not arrived at the most singular part of 

 this history, that ants make a property of these cows, 

 for the possession of which they contend with great ear- 

 nestness, and use every means to keep them to themselves. 

 Sometimes they seem to claim a right to the aphides that 

 inhabit the branches of a tree or the stalks of a plant ; 

 and if stranger-ants attempt to share their treasure with 

 them, they endeavour to drive them away, and may 

 be seen running about in a great bustle, and exhibiting 

 every symptom of inquietude and anger. Sometimes, 

 to rescue them from their rivals, they take their aphides 

 in their mouth, they generally keep guard round them, 

 and when the branch is conveniently situated, they have 

 recourse to an expedient still more effectual to keep off 

 interlopers, they inclose it in a tube of earth or other 

 materials, and thus confine them in a kind of paddock 

 near their nest, and often communicating with it. 



The greatest cow-keeper of all the ants, is one to be met 

 with in most of our pastures, residing in hemispherical 

 formicaries, which are sometimes of considerable diame- 

 ter. I mean the yellow ant of Gould (F. Jlava). This 

 species, which is not fond of roaming from home, and 

 iikes to have all its conveniences within reach, usually 



