i6 



FLASHLIGHTS ON NATURE 



The aphis in No. 6 is represented at the moment 

 when it is thus ridding itself of its excessive sweet- 

 ness. But honey-dew is sticky, and apt to get in 

 the way ; it may clog one's legs, or interfere with 

 one's proboscis : so the aphides prefer as a rule to 

 retain it prudently till some friendly animal, with a 

 taste for sweets, steps in to relieve them of the 

 unpleasant tension. The animal which especially 

 performs this kind office for the rose -aphis is the 



H 



NO. 7. AN ANT MILKING A ROSE-APHIS OF ITS HONEY-DEW, 



garden ant ; and No. 7 represents such an ant in 

 the very act of tapping and caressing an aphis with 

 its feelers, in order to make her yield up on demand 

 her store of honey. The process is ordinarily 

 described as " milking." 



You must understand, of course, that neither 

 aphis nor ant is actuated by purely philanthropic 

 considerations ; this is a case of mutual accommo- 



