ANTS VS. COTTON- WORMS. 183 



tion from the llth segment of the body. Mr. Edwards saw the ants greedily licking 

 up this secretion, and caressing the body of the grub with its antennae. I have had 

 the pleasure of verifying a great part of his statements by personal observations. Two 

 of the ants thus obtained by Mr. Edwards in attendance upon caterpillars were. Formica 

 fusca and I'renolepis nittns. 



Some of the ants herein described are referred to by the collector simply as in attend- 

 ance upon the cotton-worm. It would be interesting, as a question in natural history, 

 to know whether they were engaged, as in the case of the ants above noticed, in col- 

 lecting a sweet secretion. In this case they would be more likely to befriend than to 

 injure their hosts. 



Several of the species, however, were actually seen by Mr. Comstock killing the 

 worm. This was especially the case with the erratic ant, Dorymyrmex insanus, Dory- 

 myrmex flavm, and Solenopsls xyloni, the "cotton-ant," as it may be termed, and Mono- 

 morium carbonarium. The above three species include the greater part of the speci- 

 mens sent, of which fully one-half were of the cotton-ant. In one bottle the body of 

 the worm was preserved contorted as in a death struggle, and a number of ants were 

 clinging to it at various parts with feet and mandibles. The larva had evidently been 

 attacked by a large number of the ants, and all were surprised by the collector in the 

 midst of the fray. 



It is the habit of nearly all known species of ants to feed upon the bodies of dead 

 insects, worms, and uponauimal fats and juices generally. They attack small insects 

 and grubs, or disabled insects and worms, quite freely for the purpose of food. 



They also attack, with great fury and in united force, any such creatures as may invade 

 their premises or cross their path. It seems more probable that the cotton-worm was 

 attacked in this manner by the ants here described than that they were deliberately 

 hunted down for food. At all events, the amount of damage done to the worms even 

 by the hordes of ants that inhabit the Southern States cannot be very large. One 

 worm would furnish a day's rations for a whole colony of such small ants as these. 

 The friendly oflSces of the emmets in preserving the cotton crop can, therefore, hardly 

 have an appreciable commercial value. Nevertheless it is a matter for congratulation 

 that their military services, however insignificant, are in the right direction. 



The following information as to ants vs. cotton-worm, collected by the Department, 

 bears upon this point, and may justify a more sanguine view of the beneficial services 

 of ants than the above. The testimony has been gathered from a wide range of ter- 

 rilory, extending from the Atlantic coast to Central Texas, embracing the States of 

 North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas. It 

 would appear from these observations that (1) the ants do certainly feed upon the 

 eggs of the cotton-worm, and (2) more or less freely upon the larvae. That (3) the 

 attacks made by the ants are more likely to occur when the worms are found on the 

 ground, and (4) are confined to bright, pleasant weather when the ants come out of 

 their formicaries to seek food. One writer expresses the hope that the ant will ulti- 

 mately exterminate the cotton-worm, of which it is now the greatest enemy; another 

 thinks that in dry seasons the absence of caterpillars is due to emmet hostility; while 

 a good observer like Mr. Trelease ventures the opinion that " ants are probably among 

 the most important of the enemies of the cotton-caterpillar." 



Are any predaceous insects or parasites known to prey upon it, either in the egg, 

 larva, or chrysalis state ? 



The common little red ant is the only insect known to attack it. [H. E. Brown, 

 Camden, Ala. 



Ants. [Knox, Minge and Evans, Faunsdale, Ala. 



It is believed that the common black ant preys upon the egg. I know of none in- 

 terfering with the worm or chrysalis. [C. M. Howard, Mulberry, Ala. 



Ants are numerous at times and seem to feed on them. [Andrew Jay, Jayville. 



I have seen the ants at work on the egg and larva. [J. F. Culver, Union Springs, 

 Ala. 



