349 



ANNUAL ADDRESS. 



Economic Aspects of Our Predaceous Ant 



(Pheidole vi ('(jaceph ala) 



BY .7. F. II.LIXcaVOUTIl. 



Even the most casiuil observer is interested in ants. Their 

 extraordinary instincts appeal to the imagination ; hence, we 

 find alhisions to their industry and perseverance in the earliest 

 literature. 1000 B. C, Solomon pointed to the ants for the 

 emulation of society, and correctly observed that each individ- 

 ual was able, instinctively, to fulfill the demands of social life 

 without "chief, overseer, or ruler". 



Their great value in the economy of nature demands our 

 consideration. They not only remove myriads of dead insects, 

 but, also, act as an important factor in the destruction of the 

 living. Forel estimated that a large colony would bring in 

 100,000 daily during their greatest activity. Moreover, in 

 some countries predaceous ants are regarded as useful allies in 

 the control of insect pests, aud we might profitably consider 

 McCook's (1S82)* suggestion, that foreign ants be introduced 

 for such purposes. 



Thongh ants often come into conflict with our activities, 

 and there is a ])o})ular notion tliat they are noxious insects, 

 I believe, with Forel and other leading students of the sub- 

 ject, that a consideration of all the facts forces us to the con- 

 clusion that as a group they are eminently beneficial. 



Ants have Ix'come dominant insects through their splendid 

 ada))tability and terrestrial habits, as has been pointed out by 

 several authors. Their varied diet, sinijde home-life, and free- 

 dom fi'om enemies being important factors leading to their 

 success. "Tlie woi'st enemies of ants are other ants, just as 

 the worst enemies of men are other men."' Hence, it is a rather 

 common experience, in th(^ tro])ics, to find that one species 

 becomes dominant in a cci'tain region, at the expense of all the 

 other ant-fanna. 



* Dates in parenthesis refer to bibliography. 

 Proc. Haw. Ent. Soc. Ill, No. 4, May, 1917. 



