76 APHIDES REARED BY ANTS. 



beautiful gold-eyed, lace-winged Fly, which, while yet in its 

 crawling minority, roams through its appropriated leafy fold, 

 making tremendous use of its crooked and perforated tusks, 

 first to slaughter, then to suck in the sweet juices of its victims 

 at the rate of two a minute. Of less ferocious aspect, but not 

 a whit less insatiate than the above, is the green or parti- 

 coloured Grub of a Bee-like Fly, called a Syrphus, of which 

 many varieties are common in gardens, darting from flower to 

 flower, or hovering hawk-like over them. .Applied closely to 

 a leaf or stalk by their hinder extremities, which are broad and 

 flattish, the Grubs of these Syrphi may, in June, be noticed by 

 dozens, on the stretch for the Aphis prey by which they are 

 usually surrounded. In this attitude they much resemble 

 Leeches, and like Leeches are in greedy search of blood, the 

 honied blood of their victims. 



But enough of Aphis enemies; and now for the friends, 

 which, as well as foes, they owe to the possession of their 

 honied treasures. We have hitherto seen our flocks of the leaf 

 appropriated as sheep for the slaughter; but those to whom 

 this fact, however new, will appear nothing strange, may smile 

 incredulous, on being told that as " milch kine " they are 

 sometimes kept, tended, and even reared by insect proprietors, 

 for the sake of the sweet milk the honey-dew which 

 they afford. In our history of " Fair-weather Friends," 

 we have already adverted to this patriarchal practice, and 

 have, therefore, only to remind our readers that it is exercised 

 among various tribes of economic Ants, though the Yellow 

 Ant 1 has been termed the greatest cow-keeper of them 

 all. It may require some time and trouble to become 

 witnesses ourselves of this marvellous instance of Formic 

 economy, already proved beyond a doubt by the observations 

 of others; but everybody has an opportunity of noticing 

 that Ants and Aphides are held together by some bond of 



1 Formica flava. 



