FLASHLIGHTS ON NATTKK 



delicienry, so the loss to the race is by n<> in< 

 irreparable. " // ny a pas (fhonunc //v.v.w/. 

 Napoleon used to say; and the principle is even 

 more true as applied to the green-Hies. If a few 

 millions die, their place is soon filled again. 



Look once more at 

 No. 6, and yon will see 

 that while the tiger-like 

 enemy is engaged in 

 hoisting and devouring 

 one unfortunate aphis, 

 its neighbour below, 

 heedless of the tragedy, 

 is quietly engaged in 

 blowing off honey-dew. 

 This blowing-off of 

 honey-dew leads me on 

 direct to the very heart 

 of my subject ; for it is as 

 manufacturers of honey- 

 clew and as cows to the 

 ants that aphides base 

 their chief claim to at- 

 tention. If they did not 

 produce this Turkish 



delight of the insect world, nobody would have 

 troubled to study them so closely. Ix-t us go on to 

 see, then, what is the origin and meaning of this 

 curious and almost unique secretion. 



If you examine the leaves of a lime-tree or a 

 rose-bush in warm summer weather you will find 



V. 6. lkA<.I< KM..MY \\lltl 

 DEVOURS 120 PER HOUR. 



