INTERRELATIONS OF INSECTS 



299 



foraging ant as if it were an ant itself. In the Alleghanies, Atemeles 

 cava occurs in the nests of Formica rufa, and is much prized by this ant 

 on account of the fluid which the beetle secretes from glandular hairs 

 on the sides of the abdomen. 



The beetle Claviger has at the base of each elytron a tuft of hairs, 



;. 293. Lomechusa strumosa being freed of mites by Dinar da dentata. -After WASMANN. 





FIG. 294. Atemeles emarginatus being fed by an ant, Myrmica scabrinodis. After 



WASMANN. 



which the ants lick persistently. This beetle is blind and appears to be 

 incapable of feeding itself; for when deprived of ant-assistance it dies, 

 even though surrounded- by food. These cases of symbiosis, or mutual 

 benefit, are well authenticated. 



Visitors. Many myrmecophilous insects are not restricted to ants' 

 nests, but are free to enter or to leave. This is true of such Staphylinidae 

 as visit formicaries simply for shelter or to feed upon detritus, and these 

 visitors are treated with indifference by the ants. 



