1883.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



67 



ill market come mostly from I.onjc Island. 

 "New York is tlie best market tor all these 

 luxuries," said a dealer, '' but Boston, I'bila- 

 delphia and Wasbini,'loii also take considera- 

 ble. New Kiii^dand i.s the .seat of the liot- 

 lioii.se industry^ tlioiit;h we have houses also 

 on Long Island and in New Jersey."— JVfw 

 York Sun. 



"SADDLEBACK MOTH." 

 Mr. II. L. '/,., Lanmxler, Pa. The oblong 

 smooth coeoons that you found above ground 

 and attached to the rootlets at the l)ase of your 

 hop-vine, are tlie cocoons of a species of "Ilag- 

 moth,"or,as somecall it, "Saddleback-moth;" 

 and, on opening one, wc have no donlil it i.s 

 the Emprctia slimulea of Dr. Clemens, as this 

 species is becoming abundant in and about 

 Lancaster. The cocoon we opened coiitanud 

 tlie living larva, very little changed from 

 what it must have been last August or Sep- 

 tember, when it spun itself .in ; ondurjug all 

 the cold, sleet, ice, snow and winds of the 

 intervening winter, and it seems remarkable 

 that ou the 6th of May it had not yet assumed 

 the pupa state. Even the green and reddish- 

 brown colors were retained. The anterior 

 and posterior tleshy horns were greatly dimiu- 

 islied in size, and thrown backward and for- 

 ward in adapting the larva to the form of the 

 cocoon, which it entirely filled. It is pretty 

 well known that the spines with which the 

 tleshy horns of this insect larva are supplied, 

 produce a painful sensation when they come 

 in contact with the back of the hand or any 

 exposed nart of the body, where the skin is 

 soft or thin. The larvse of these insects are 

 omnivorous feeders, and have been detected 

 on almost every kind of fruit trees (last sum- 

 mer even on the peach) and on a great vari- 

 ety of plants and shrubs, including Indian 

 corn, roses, etc., and whatever injury vegeta- 

 tion sustains from them is during the larval 

 period. It is a njistaken impression to sup- 

 pose that Ihey injured your hop-vines, unless 

 they destroyed the foliage last summer, and 

 from the great number you say you found, 

 they would have been quite capable of injur- 

 ing it to a great extent, provided they fed 

 upon its foliage, a case we are not able from 

 personal observation to aiiirm, so far as we 

 remember. That the coooon.s should have 

 . adhered to the rootlets of the hop is not at all 

 remarkable. Insects that spin cocoous always 

 fasten them more or less firmly to any object 

 tliat is most convenient. We have had them 

 spin in boxes dozens of times, and they have 

 invariably /(tsteiiei? tlieir cocoons, whether on 

 the bottom, the sides, in a corner, or an angle. 

 The genus Empretia belongs to the family 

 coNCHiLQPODiDvE, wliicli, WC prcsuuie, al- 

 ludes to the firm, shell-like, and internally 

 polished cocoon. And also to the section 

 IIetekocer.E, liecau.se of the heterogenious 

 characteristics of the individuals embraced in 

 it ; perhaps we ought to say in conclusion that 

 these are minor divisions of the great order 

 LEprnopTEK.E— bntterfiies and moths. 



OCCUPATIONS OF ANllMALS. 

 The following purports to be the results of 

 an interview between a reporter of the New 

 York Sun and a naturalist, and no doubt there 

 are many who are able to verify it, at least so 

 far as it relates to their own observations upon 

 the animals of their own localities, or those 



they have met with elsewhere, and yet there 

 is still a "blissful state of ignorance" almost 

 everywhere, in regard to the commonest sub- 

 jects of the animal kingdom, even among 

 those who possess a tair degree of intelligence 

 upon other subjects. The article recalls some 

 of the observations and experiences of our 

 early manhood, indeed, of our boyhood — 

 especially in reference to the "ant Lion," or 

 nii/rmdion, the "car[)enter bees," the "mason 

 wasps," the "Bombardier beetles," the ants, 

 aiiliids, etc. Doubtless these various phases 

 of insect life may occur right under the noses 

 of those possessing rare opportunities to make 

 accurate observations, and yet they may be 

 entirely unconscious of anything of the kind. 

 Tlie deductions arc interesting, even if not 

 quite accurate in detail, and may lead the read- 

 er to speculative, if not practical, thinking. 



"There's a curious reflection of human 

 affairs in the actions of the lower animals," 

 said tlie naturalist to the reporter. 



"Everything liut the dynamite phase, "sug- 

 gested the latter. 



"No, I won't except that," was the reply ; 

 "and I'll wager you can't mention a class of 

 men or an occupation followed by them to 

 which I can't show yon something similar in 

 the so-called lower animal kingdom." 



The reporter suggested the dynamite fiend. 



"VVell," continued the naturalist, pulling 

 out a drawer upon which was a blood-curd- 

 ling name, "here's a beetle that belongs to 

 the explosive brotherhood, and so powerful 

 an agent it is that it is called the 'Bombardier, ' 

 and is ready to go oft" at a moment's notice. 

 It is, as you see, an old-fashioned .sort of a 

 fellow— doesn't afiect long hair and the like ; 

 but let an enemy follow it too closely and it 

 stops suddenly, and if you were listening you 

 would hear a report, a puff or smoke would 

 rise in the air, and the pursuer would be 

 completely demoralized. I have seen these 

 bombardiers fire five or six times in as many 

 minutes, whirling about, as if taking aim. 

 The explosives come from a gland. Quite a 

 number of animals carry explosives. The 

 larvaj of some dragon flies eject a liciuid irri- 

 tating to man. .The squids, however, lead in 

 this respect. I remember drifting along over 

 the reef at Nassau several years ago, and 

 seeing several .siiuids jui?t below the surface. 

 I put out my hand, and in a second my dear- 

 est friend woiddn't have known me. I wa* 

 literally drenched with ink, which was thrown 

 from a distance of at least three feet. It was 

 indelible, and I still have the vouchers in the 

 way of stained lined." 



Here the naturalist took down a drawer 

 labeled "Myrmeleon," and said : "Here is 

 not only a plotter, but a diagram of its trap. 

 The propensity .seems bred in the bone, as it 

 is indulged in by the young insects. When 

 first hatched the insect seeks out a soft soil 

 oil some miniature sandy idain. It generally 

 holds its head in place at one point, while its 

 body is whirled about like a pair of dividers. 

 This doue, the in.sect begins throwing out the 

 s.and ; some is carried, but the greater jiart is 

 removeil on a plan that a least shows an at- 

 temiit at labor saving. With a iiuiek move- 

 ment the worker shovels a load nimn its head, 

 and by a backward upward jerk hurls it far 

 out of the excavation. If a pebble or stone is 

 met with it. is tossed out in the .same way, 

 nias.ses half as large as the worker being 

 liurU'd over a foot away. When a largi^ stone 

 is encountered the intelligence di-^iplayed is re- 

 markable. The engineer .seems to know that 

 the rock can't be tossed, and so he carefully 

 rolls it upon his head and iiroceeds to climb 

 up the ineliiK^ of the pit. Naturally the stone 

 would roll olt'of any incline, but to avert this 

 the insect lifts its tail high in air, and .so 

 crawls up the side with the stone on a perfect 

 level. I have seen them try a stone ten or 

 fifteen times, and then give it up and select 

 another location. After the pit is completed 

 it represents the cast of an inverted cone, and 



at the bottom the insect conceals itself, leaving 

 only its two enormous jaws protruding. You 

 see here ou this diagram the whole tragedy i.s 

 enacted. We will suppose that this ant is 

 the Czar on the way to coronation. He rushes 

 along, comes to th<! pit with his attendants, 

 steps on the [ireiiared slides, and goes rolling 

 down int<r the moulh of the living or Nihilist 

 trap below. Perhaps when half way down 

 the ant regains a foothold, and seems in a 

 fair way to escape, but the trap-maker throws 

 off all concealment, ciuickly shovels sand upon 

 its heail, and hurls load after load at the 

 victim, who rolls down helpless into his 

 (enemy's jaws, and is destroyed. When the 

 trap-maker has sucked the blood, he uncere- 

 moniously hoists the remains u|ion his head 

 and throws them out upon the sand. The 

 pit is then repaired for the next victim. 



"Among the animal workers all occupa- 

 tions are found. Take a colony of bees, for 

 instance. In forming a nest one set of bees 

 are ordinary laborers, and form the rough 

 cells. A set of skilled laborers then take hold 

 and shape the cells, and so on. Among tlie 

 ants the workers not only have thc"ir sh.are 

 of vvork to do, but they differ from the 

 others in shape and general appearance, the 

 king, queens, soldiers, and laborers being 

 all markedly dillereiit in appearance. The 

 soldiers have enormous jaws, but never work. 

 They rush out fiercely when you brea into ak 

 nest. If the enemy is not visible they return, 

 and the laborers come out aud begin repairs. 

 The army ants of South America show great 

 intelligence. The workers like our sappers 

 and miners, often go ahead and form a pro- 

 tective arch, under which the soldiers march ; 

 and .so raiiidly is this thrown up that the 

 onward march is not delayed. The ants are 

 also slave owners. They capture ants of 

 other species and force them to work for them 

 and attend them as body servants. So luxu- 

 rious do some of these slave owners become 

 that they arc utterly helpless when deprived 

 of their menials. The latter not only wait ou 

 their masters, but feed them. If the slaves 

 are taken away their owners perish. 



"Ants are also farmers. In Te.xas a tribe 

 collect the seeds of various plants and plant 

 them in close lU'oximity to their homes, so 

 that they can benefit by the seed. The farmer 

 or grain ants of Europe store up vast supplies 

 in underground grannerios. After a damp 

 season the seeds are taken out and laid in the 

 sun and finally returned." 



"How is it the seeds don't sprout ?" asked 

 the reporter. 



" That's the most wonderful part of it. The 

 seeds don't sprout, though there they are, 

 planted under ground and kept fresh. It is 

 suppo.scd that the ants bite the seeds in some 

 way so that they are in a state of coma, just 

 as wasps sting animals .so that they remain 

 insensible for iiiontlis. Ants may be said 

 al.so to keep cows— not exactly Durliams, but 

 insects that answer the same purpose. They 

 collect the plant lice, and, by caressing them 

 in some way, force or induce them to give out 

 or exude a drop of sweet liquor. I have seen 

 five or six ants awaiting tlieir turn to milk 

 one of these cows. The ants often collect the 

 eggs of the aphidos, place them ou iilants 

 near their homes, and care for them in many 

 ways, just as we do for our blooiled stock. In 

 the fail ants have been known to take their 

 cows under ground and try to keep them 

 through the winter. Many ants keep beetles 

 and other insects as pets, some as playfellows, 

 others on account of their odor. Several 

 hundred distinct species of insects are iu this 

 way kept luisoners under ground. 



"In engineering the ants are equally skill- 

 ful. They bridi:e wide .streams by joining to- 

 gether their bodies clinging one to another, 

 and thus forming a long string that the wind 

 blows across the stream. In this way a bridge 

 is formed over which an entire army passes." 



" Here is the tube of a marine worm. You 

 see it was first formed of finely ground pieces 

 of sand— in fact, of anything that the animal 

 could get hold of, just as the inner walling of 

 a house is made of rough material ; but wheu 



