9 



and thi.s the ants will nndoubtedl}^ be able to renew in a few hours. 

 No injury need be anticipated on this score, except the loss of the few 

 individuals actually stepped on and crushed. Where the surface soil 

 is loose the ants are careful to start their nests against some rigid 

 object, often at the base of the cotton plant itself, and follow the 

 root down 2 or 3 inches where a more moist and lirm material can be 

 reached. The f requeue}^ with which this occurred in Guatemala may 

 indicate that the ants transfer their nests to the vicinity of the cotton 

 after it has begun to grow. There w^as no indication that the making 

 of the burrows injured the plants, but, if an3^thing, the reverse; at 

 least the largest ant colonies were dug out where the cotton had flour- 

 ished best. General reasoning would also suggest that the slight open- 

 ing of the soil about the plant would be as likel}^ to benefit as to injure 

 it. Nothing was found to indicate that the roots of the cotton or any 

 other plant are attacked by the ants. The}^ may gnaw off a small root 

 which interferes with their operations, but they disturb the soil so little 

 that such damage must certainly be extremely slight and in complete 

 contrast to the extensive injuries often done by the large red ants 

 {Pogonornyrmex l)arbatiis) native in Texas, which permit nothing to 

 grow within an area of several square yards surrounding the entrance 

 of their nest. 



Like the human inhabitants of tropical countries, the ants have the 

 habit of taking a siesta. When the weather is clear and hot the}^ are 

 much less numerous upon the cotton plants in the middle of the day 

 than in the morning or evening, and in the longer days and drier 

 climate of Victoria a tendency to lengthen this period of retirement 

 to the underground nest is alread}^ evident. That the strong sunlight 

 and heat are distasteful to the ants is easily proved b}^ alternately 

 shading and exposing the entrance of the nest. The ants appear 

 promptl}^ when there is shade and seek their subterranean shelfer 

 when it is withdrawn. The fact that the ants are thus quiescent in 

 the middle of the day when, according to Messrs. Hunter and Hinds, 

 most of the weevil injuries are inflicted, might seem to interfere with 

 their utility. But apart from the poetic justice of having the weevil 

 caught in the act of damaging the cotton, all purposes would be served 

 as well or better if it were disposed of in the evening or the morning 

 before. It seemed in Guatemala that the weevils, as well as the ants, 

 were more numerous in the earlier and later hours of the day; at least 

 they were easier to find. In rainy or cloudy weather more ants remain 

 on the cotton during the day. 



The cotton which they protect in Guatemala is an annual variety. 

 The crop is harvested in May and the old plants pulled up to make 

 room for the development of peppers, which it is customary to plant 

 among the cotton, to ripen somewhat later. The ants ver}^ rarel}^ 



