Queer Friendships 



scrape earth from the roots so that they may obtain their 

 food more easily and attend assiduously to their eggs and 

 young. 



A very similar relationship also exists between certain 

 ants and some scale insects which also give off "honey 

 dew." Frequently the ants will transfer their insect 

 " cattle " to favourable feeding-grounds on well-liked trees 

 or shrubs and build around them a shed of woody debris 

 as a protection against enemies and inclement weather. 

 Adult "blue" butterflies of the species whose caterpillars 

 are farmed by ants appear to understand the situation to 

 a nicety, for they are very particular as to where they lay 

 their eggs. " If the right plant has no ants, or the ants on 

 that plant are not the right species, the butterfly will lay 

 no eggs on that plant." Some caterpillars will certainly 

 not live without the ants and many are extremely un- 

 comfortable when brought up away from their masters. 



One of these peculiar butterflies, a native of India and 

 Australia, spends its whole life in ants' nests and is 

 very peculiarly built to suit it for the life. The caterpillar 

 from which the ants derive their " honey dew " has a horny 

 skin instead of the soft coat which clothes most cater- 

 pillars. The skin also forms the covering of the chrysalis, 

 as in flies, a most peculiar happening amongst butterflies 

 but useful as a protection in the absolutely defenceless 

 chrysalis stage. But most strange of all is the butterfly 

 itself, which would probably be attacked by the ants were 

 it an ordinary butterfly, for they are no respecters of 

 persons. It is cunningly contrived with a multitude of 

 loose scales. When the ants, which do not seem to 

 connect the butterfly with the caterpillars from which they 

 have obtained their " honey dew," make an attack on the 

 insect, their legs and antennae become so hopelessly 

 encumbered by the loose scales that they are powerless to 

 do further mischief. An assault on the butterfly results in 

 a tarring and feathering for the aggressors. In short, all 

 ant farms are mutually beneficial to insect farmers and 



169 



