26 FOOD—ENEMIES. 
attacks of other insects. Our English ants do not 
store up provision for the winter; indeed, their food 
is not of a nature which would admit of this. I have 
indeed observed that the small brown ant sometimes 
carries seeds of the violet into its nest, but for what 
purpose is not clear. Some of the southern ants. 
however, lay up stores of grain (see Chapter III.). 
Ants have many enemies. They themselves, and 
still more their young, are a favourite food of many 
animals. They are attacked also by numerous para- 
sites. Ifa nest of the brown ants is disturbed at any 
time during the summer, some small flies may probably 
be seen hovering over the nest, and every now and 
then making a dash at some particular ant. These 
flies belong to the genus Phora, and toa species hitherto 
unnamed, which Mr. Verrall has been good enough to 
describe for me (see Appendix). They lay their eggs 
on the ants, inside which the larve live. Other species . . 
of the genus are in the same way parasitic on bees. 
Ants are also sometimes attacked by mites. On 
one occasion I observed that one of my ants had a 
mite attached to the underside of its head. ‘The mite, 
which maintained itself for more than three months in 
the same position, was almost as large as the head. 
The ant could not remove it herself. Being a queen, 
she did not come out of the nest, so that I could not 
do it for her, and none of her own companions thought 
of performing this kind office. 
In character the different species of ants differ very 
