

NATURAL HISTORr. 



3«5 



ant housekeeping. In a few weeks the nat- 

 uralist withdrew his stake, and found im- 

 prisoned in the little chambers all the de- 

 sired material for his investigations. 



Janet says that one of the most common 

 parasites is a mite known as Antennophorus, 

 which moves but little about the nest. It 

 manages, however, to fasten itself on the 

 body of the ant, where the latter is unable 

 to dislodge it. There are 3 such unreacha- 

 ble points : under the head ana on either 

 side of the abdomen. 



One of these mites when detached will 

 show much excitement on the approach of 

 an ant, extending its fore feet while 

 standing on its hinder ones. Its fore feet 

 exude a sticky substance which, touching 

 the ant, serves to hold the mite. The ant 

 thus attacked becomes frenzied notwith- 

 standing he may already be carrying one 

 or more of the pests. He threatens with his 

 mandibles, strikes with his fe^t. doubles 

 himself in a vain attempt to reach his un- 

 welcome guest and throws out poison at 

 him. When the mite has reached a position 

 of safety its victim surrenders to the inev- 

 itable. These mites have been seen to change 

 from one ant to another, when 2 of the 

 latter were near enough to allow of this 

 movement. 



Each ant has a magazine of food supply, 

 not unlike a crop, and it is from this store- 

 house the mites draw their rations. But 

 they can only obtain them when a transfer 

 of food is made from one ant to another. 

 The mites know how to demand ? nd to ob- 

 tain this food, either from the mouth of the 

 insect upon whom they are billeted, 

 or from another. Though the mites are not 

 well received by the ant at first, yet when 

 once they are settled the pest-ridden insect 

 submits with good grace. Janet often saw 

 ants licking each other, after the manner of 

 cattle. If during one of these toilet scenes 

 a mite arrives it receives the same fond at- 

 tention, and in addition a drop of disgorged 

 food. 



Another form of mite, named the Disco- 

 poma, is also abundant in these subter- 

 ranean homes. It, too. wanders slowly 

 about, or sits on its hind legs reaching 

 forward its sticky arms. If it can but 

 reach a passing ant it fastens on him. 

 This form of mite is properly a parasite. 

 It lives on the internal juices of its victim. 

 Fortunately for the ants, their various tor- 

 mentors are not life takers. 



If, after the naturalist had abundantly 

 fed his ants, he returned them to their arti- 

 ficial nest, they at once divided their gar- 

 nered store with their less fortunate com- 

 panions. The provider placed himself a lit- 

 tle in front of the receiver. Opening his 

 mouth he extended his tongue, and ejected 

 small drops of food which the beneficiary 

 immediately absorbed. No sooner d©es the 



commissary arrive than the Lepismino, a 

 third form of mite, scents the honey. He 

 proceeds to hold up both the giver and 

 receiver by placing himself between them, 

 and intercepting the sweet morsels as they 

 pass. The 2 ants, raised against each other, 

 can only threaten the thief, without being 

 able to dispose of him. 



PROTECT SEA BIRDS. 



Senator Hoar sends me the following 

 letter, which he received from Mr. Abbott 

 H. Thayer: 



Scarboro, N. Y. 

 My dear Sir: — 



In case of the failure of your bill, which 

 aims to prohibit the wearing and selling of 

 birds, would it not be worth while to pro- 

 pose protection for sea birds and others at 

 breeding time? The most prosaic Con- 

 gressman should be able to see that the 

 feather dealers are not wise in claiming as 

 a dignified industry the swift destruction 

 of the goose that lays their golden egg. 

 What plea can they make, as business men. 

 for an occupation which by the law of its 

 operation can only last a year or 2? 



A United States law which recognized 

 the plume industry, but restricted it to 

 game season rules, on the ground that so 

 only would the plume business be business 

 like, might pass; and it would be better 

 than nothing. Such is the Massachusetts 

 law on gulls. Of course, the feather men 

 can give the distressing answer that as fast 

 as one species has grown too rare to pay 

 the seeking, they can turn to our song 

 birds. Yet it does seem as though the 

 coarsest man in Congress would join to de- 

 mand that the milliners furnish only what 

 they can get without attacking as it were 

 the principal. They should be content 

 with the interest on bird life. 



This gross onslaught has in Maine 

 brought the breeding sea birds down prob- 

 ably 75 per cent, in the one summer of 

 1899, so shockingly great was the killing 

 for the New York market. Surely these 

 are not long-headed business principles, 

 and the birds they are sweeping away are 

 the main scavengers of the ports. Refuse 

 which by floating escapes many of the 

 fishes, and which would sooner or later be 

 a stench to summer visitors along a hun- 

 dred miles of adjacent beach, is removed 

 by these birds, and, essentially, only by 

 them. This fact will be felt by all these 

 feather dealers and their supporters in a 

 few years. 



Mr. Manly Hardy, of Brewer, Me., 

 writes that no keepers can do any good 

 there on account of the shooters' custom 

 of decoying the birds to a distance from 

 their island by means of a wounded one, 

 and then shooting them, aided by the fact 

 that the more there are wounded the more 



