1906 



GLEANINGS IN BI:e CULTURE. 



1055 



very murh on his own oljservations except- 

 ing what few hints he may get here and there. 



I read up the tropical authorities on ants 

 such as Bates, Wallace, and Bell; and, with 

 the exception of the latter, I could glean 

 nothing from them in regard to the habits of 

 ants: and if we have to light ants we must 

 uuderstanil their ways. 



Mr. O. (). Poppletcm, of Florida, has re- 

 cently graphically descril^ed the actions of an 

 ant common to his State, which makes des- 

 perate assaults on hive Ijees. Strange to re- 

 late, the same species is common to South 

 America, and is there a relentless and undy- 

 ing enemy of bees. The worst of it is, it does 

 most of its ravaging at night. It is also no- 

 madic in its halMts — a scjrt of Arab among 

 the ants. It is, therefore, what entomologists 

 term an Eciton or driver ant. If it hatl an 

 al)idingplace as other ants have we could de- 

 stroy its home: but it has a nasty habit of en- 

 camping handy for the struggle. It is no 

 coward or sluggard. It will just as readily 

 attack a strong colony as a weak one: and I 

 do not hesitate to say that in some parts they 

 are numerous enough to destroy all the colo- 

 nies at the Home of the Honey-bees within 

 three days. It doesn't make any difference 

 how many the l)ees may kill, more ants jump 

 to the attack till superior numbers gain the 

 day. The Ritssians i-ould get a good deal of 

 knowledge from them preparatory to the 

 next war. Before I understood them very 





MORRISON S ANT-PROOF BEE-SHED FOR THE 

 TROPICS. 



well I used to nail up my hives every eve- 

 ning and open them in the morning; but some- 

 times they managed U> gain an entrance 

 somehow, and then a l)attle would ensue. 

 The bees would holler something like this — 

 "Help! help I help! blue murder! bee-keeper, 

 wake up! " and I got so used to it that at the 

 first onslaught the shouts of the l^ees would 

 wake me right up. Then I Avould get a light 

 and discover the "leak," nail up the hive, 

 and retire to rest. In daytime they would 

 encamp in .nvanns unilerneath the hives, 

 patiently awaiting their opportunity. This 

 kind of thing gives a man an eerie feeling of 

 insecurity, especially when he is the only 

 owner of bees for many leagues around. 

 Why didn't I put the legs of the hives in cans 

 of water? I did, but to little purpose. The 



frogs (crapeaus) came and played with the 

 water till it all splashed oufr^this in the 

 night too. An mals, too, thought I placed it 

 there for their lieuetit. 



Gradually I tliscovered the only way to 

 keep l)ees in hot countries w^as to construct 

 an ant-proof shed. I give an illustration of 

 a shed the result of my ol)servations. 



The ant I refer to is not the only one by 

 any means which ])ee-keepers have to dread. 



Some of these may be circumvented l)y de- 

 stroying their nest-s— and there are nests 100 

 feet around or so, and perhaps 6 feet deep in 

 the earth. In Triniciad and Eastern Vene- 

 zuela the "para-sol" ant is very destructive 

 to plantations, particularly to cacao (choco- 

 late). The planters resort to various devices 

 to destroy the nests. Some puddle the wh(jle 

 nest, but that is expensive, costing something 

 like ten dollars a nest. Bisulphide of carbon 

 and gasoline are very effectively used, but 

 are disguised under fanciful names and sold 

 at a large profit. 



Picric acid, nitroglycerine, and gunpowder 

 can also be used, and crude petroleum is one 

 of the best remeiiies where one can get it 

 cheaply. 



The "parasol" is a leaf -cutting ant, and 

 bears a great reseml)lance to the ant just de- 

 scril;)ed; in fact, I can't see the dift'erence; 

 but in habits it is entirely dift'erent. The par- 

 asol ant builds an immense nest, w^orks in 

 daytime, eats vegetation, and is not a nomad. 

 There are many ants which may be combat- 

 ed by the same means as the parasol ant— 

 that is, by using IMsulphide of carbon or gas- 

 oline. The ABC- says use a crowltar to 

 make a hole, and then put in the l^isulphide; 

 Init that is a poor w^ay. Do nothing to clog 

 up the pasages in the nest; drop some carbon 

 into each hole, and then cover up the nest 

 with a piece of canvas. The gas wliich is 

 generated is heavier than air, and will sink 

 to the remotest coi'ners of the nest, killing all 

 life in its course. 



Where ants' nests are near the home, some- 

 thing may be done l)y digging out the nest a 

 little at a time, allowing the chickens to eat 

 the larva3 (ant eggs). But th.ere is nothing 

 like a shed properly constructed. 



Construct a good l)ig tin cup around each 

 post, and fill the same half full with tar. 

 Water may be used. ))ut it is not a tenth as 

 effective as tar; besides, the tar preserves the 

 post. The illustrations will show just how 

 to do this. Water may be allowed to accu- 

 mulate in the cups on top of the tar. It is 

 safe to say no in.sect or other animal will 

 touch the same. Ants hate tar for two rea- 

 sons — its smell is vile, and it sticks their feet. 

 The stingless bees plaster a sort of bird-lime 

 around their entrance-hole so sticky no ant 

 cares to negotiate. The Jiives should be very 

 simple — no gable roofs, no porticoes, no quilts, 

 nothing that will form a refuge for ants. 

 Closed-end frames with a space at the entl 

 ■will not answer, and don't pay good money 

 for division-boards or followers, for some 

 species of ants will actually make their home 

 inside the hive and keep robl)ing and teasing 

 the bees all the while. And there is nothing 



