THE HARVESTING-ANTS OF FLORIDA. 77 



ral resemblance to the Texan "agricultural 

 ant," that they would prove to be harvest- 

 ing-ants. 



On excavating a nest, I found chambers, 

 or store-rooms, filled with, various kinds of 

 seeds. But, so far as I have observed, the 

 seeds are not eaten until they are swollen 

 or sprouted, when the outer covering bursts 

 of itself. At this stage the starch, is being 

 converted into sugar, and this seems to be 

 what the ants are after. They also seemed 

 to be very fond of the yellow pollen-dust of 

 the pine. The catkins of the long -leaved 

 pine (Pinus australia) commenced falling in 

 February, and I noticed ants congregated 

 on them ; so I took those j ust ready to dis- 

 charge the pollen, and shook the dust on the 

 mound in little heaps, which were soon sur- 

 rounded by ants, crowding and jostling each 

 other in their eagerness to obtain a share. 



The colony in the glass jar seemed per- 

 fectly contented, not trying to make their 

 escape at all. The earth was originally a 

 little more than, two inches in depth, but by 

 the first of February these wonderful archi- 

 tects had reared their domicile to the height 

 of six inches. They raised tier upon tier of 

 chambers in so substantial a manner that 

 they never fell in. One of the store-rooms 



