266 ANIMAL PAEASITES AND MESSMATES. 



the phylloxera, that Mons. Planchon has just discovered 

 in America the cat of the phylloxera, one of the acaridas, 

 its mortal enemy ; and it is only necessary to multiply 

 these in order to destroy this terrible pest of the vine- 

 yards. We thus see that we have only to imitate this 

 so-called blind Nature, in order that we may arrest a 

 misfortune against which man is unable to protect him- 

 self by his own powers. 



We will here repeat what we wrote respecting 

 aphides some years ago. Who does not know these 

 small green bodies, of the size of a pin's head, coming 

 like a cloud upon the buds and leaves of the rose 

 bushes, which shrivel and wither immediately ? There 

 are green ones on certain plants, and black ones on 

 others, but whatever be their colour, they are living 

 pearls which form garlands round the stalk. The world 

 considers them as vermin, and they scarcely dare to 

 touch them with the point of their fingers. To the 

 naturalist they are a little world of wonders. Let us 

 examine with a magnifying lens these walking grains of 

 sand ; each grain will reveal to us a charming insect, 

 •whose head is adorned with two little antennas, and 

 has globular projecting eyes glistening with the richest 

 colours; behind these are two reservoirs of liquid 

 sugar, elegantly mounted on a polished stalk, and 

 always full ; long and slender limbs support the 

 globular body. 



Much has been written about these small sugar 

 manufactories, so well known by ants that they have 

 procured for the aphis the name of ant-cow. Among 

 the curious phenomena presented by these grains of 

 animated dust, that which most interests us relates 



