39 



ENTOMOLOGY 



Intruders. Not so, however, with species that are inimical to th( 

 interests of the ants, such as many species of Staphylinidae and His 

 teridae, which steal food from the ants, kill them or devour their larv* 

 or pupae at every opportunity. The ants are hostile to these marauders 

 though the latter often escape through their agility or else rely upoi 

 their armor for protection. Quedius brevis and Myrmedonia, as Schwar; 

 observes, are soft-bodied forms which remain beside the walls of the gal- 

 leries or near the entrance of a nest and attack solitary ants; while 

 Hetarius, which mixes with the ants, is protected by its hard and smootl 

 covering, under which the legs and antennae can be withdrawn. _ Sue! 

 an enemy is an unavoidable evil from the standpoint of an ant. 



FIG. 295. Atelura formicaria stealing food from a pair of ants. After JANET. 



Janet has described the amusing way in which an audacious species 

 of Atelura steals food from the very mouths of ants. As is well known, 

 ants are accustomed to feed one another from mouth to mouth. Whei 

 the foragers, filled with honey or other food, return to the nest, they ar< 

 solicited for food by those that have remained at home; as a forager and 

 a beggar stand head to head, the former disgorges small drops of food, 

 which are seized by the latter. While a pair of ants are engaged in this 

 performance (Fig. 295), and a drop of honey is being passed, the Atelura 

 rushes in, grabs the drop and hurries away. As might be expected, 

 these interlopers are constantly being chased by their victims from one 

 corner of the nest to another. 



Parasites. Nematode worms occupy the pharyngeal glands of ants; 

 larvae of Stylops inhabit their bodies; more than thirty kinds of mites 

 attach themselves to the heads or feet of ants; while Chalcididae and 

 Proctotrypidae parasitize ants' eggs. 



