72 EGGS OF APHIDES KEPT THROUGH 
made the best of their way out of the nest, and, indeed, 
were sometimes brought out by the ants themselves. 
In vain I tried them with roots of grass &.; they 
wandered uneasily ‘about, and eventually died. More- 
over, they did not in any way resemble the subterranean 
species. In 1878 I again attempted to rear these 
young aphides; but though I hatched a great many 
eggs, I did not succeed. In 1879, however, I was more 
fortunate. The eggs commenced to hatch the first 
week in March. Near one of my nests of Lasius 
flavus, in which I had placed some of the eggs in 
question, was a glass containing living specimens of 
several species of plant commonly found on or around 
ants’ nests. To this some of the young aphides were 
brought by the ants. Shortly afterwards I observed on 
a plant of daisy, in the axils of the leaves, some small 
aphides, very much resembling those from my nest, 
though we had not actually traced them continuously. 
They seemed thriving, and remained stationary on the 
daisy. Moreover, whether they had sprung from the 
black eggs or not, the ants evidently valued them, for 
they built up a wall of earth round and over them. 
So things remained throughout the summer; but on 
the 9th October I found that the aphides had laid some 
eggs exactly resembling those found in the ants’ nests ; 
and on examining daisy-plants from outside, I found 
on many of them similar aphides, and more or less of 
the same eggs. 
I confess these observations surprised me very much. 
