242 Gwsts Welcome and Unwelcome 



The snap-dragon, for instance, keeps her mouth so 

 firmly closed that none but the strong humble-bee can 

 force its way in, until, that is, the necessary pollen has 

 been brought. But then, when the seed is made sure, 

 and the ants can do no harm, the lips are unclosed, 

 and they are generously admitted to what remains of 

 the feast, an opportunity of which they do not fail to 

 make use. 



Ants, like other wingless insects, prefer to avoid the 

 dew, and so are not astir very early. Some flowers, 

 therefore, unfold for only a short time during the first 

 hours of the morning and close again by 9 a.m. ; and 

 in all probability there is a close connection between 

 the times when flowers open and close, and the hours 

 when their friends and enemies are abroad. 



Plants such as the teasel keep off the ants by means 

 of the basins formed by their leaves, which catch the 

 dew as it trickles down their stems, and keep it so 

 effectually as to be seldom empty while the plant is in 

 blossom. Water is completely baffling to ants, and 

 if placed on the stem of a plant thus protected, they 

 run helplessly up and down, and then drop to the 

 ground. 



Stickiness, too, of all kinds, is their abhorrence, and 

 is often fatal to them, whether in the form of sticky 

 hairs or sticky juice. The lettuce is one of many 

 plants furnished with a milky juice, which is especially 

 abundant near the flowers. If an ant crawls up the 

 stem, its hooked feet are so sharp as to cut through 

 the outer skin, and the juice which at once oozes out 

 hardens rapidly, gluing it to the spot, while the little 

 creature's frantic efforts to clean itself only make 

 matters worse, and it seldom succeeds in escaping. 



