ixsects. 235 



in the day-time, avoiding, however, the middle of the day and occasionally 

 working at night. These ants carefully clear away all the grass from 

 around their nests, biting it off with their jaws, and then later grubbing 

 up the stumps. The discs thus cleared are either kept entirely elean, or 

 only 'ant-rice' (a species of grass of the genus Aristida) is allowed 

 grow on them. From the disc paths radiate in various directions to the 

 harvest fields. In the centre of the disc are the gates to the nest, and 

 these may be surrounded by a mound, or be even with the surrounding 

 surface, some of the mounds being twenty or more feet across and half a 

 foot high. 



The name agricultural ants is given in allusion to the habits. They 

 gather the seeds of the ant-rice, and convey it to their underground abodes, 

 where it serves as food. They carefully clean the grains of their husks, 

 and one author even says that the ants actually plant the seeds of the ant- 

 rice each October, although confirmation of this fact has not been obtained. 

 In their storerooms (which, of course, are underground), the seecU are 

 apt to sprout when moistened by the rains, and at such times they bring 

 the grain out to dry, and thus check the damage. 



Other harvesting or agricultural ants are found in other parts of the 

 world. One in Florida feeds on the seeds of a species of millet ; but tin- 

 longest known species is that occurring in the region around the Medi- 

 terranean, and which is described in the book of Proverbs: "Go to the 

 ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways and be wise: which having no 

 guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gath- 

 ereth her food in the harvest." This advice, as will be seen from the 

 preceding pages, is good if one only takes care that he model his acts 

 upon one of the better sort of ants, and not upon one of the slave- 

 making forms. 



The digger-wasps are solitary forms, the females of which dig n 

 either in the ground or in wood, in which to rear their young : while 

 others make cells of mud in which they lay their eggs. Our cut shows sev- 

 eral forms, and incidentally illustrates several interesting features in their 

 economy. At the left is shown a large wasp in the act of stinging a spider. 

 This is a habit common to many of these forms ; the sting sometimes kills 

 the spider, but more usually it merely numbs it without killing it. 

 spider is then placed in the nest with the eggs, and then when the wasp- 

 larva hatches out, it has a supply of food at hand. Were the spid< 

 dead, it would quickly decay or dry up ; but when merely paralyzed, it wil 

 keep for a long time. At the right of the cut is shown a wasp-Ian a feeding 

 on the abdomen of a spider. 



Some of these digger-wasps are called sand-wasps, from their ha 



