﻿358 
  

  

  AMERICAN 
  HOMES 
  AND 
  GARDENS 
  

  

  September, 
  1907 
  

  

  New 
  Ant 
  Lore 
  

  

  By 
  George 
  Bullock 
  

  

  HE 
  red 
  weaver-ant, 
  which 
  is 
  wide-spread 
  in 
  

   the 
  tropical 
  Indies, 
  the 
  Malay 
  Archipelago 
  

   and 
  Polynesia, 
  inhabits 
  globular 
  leaf-nests 
  in 
  

   colonies. 
  Such 
  a 
  nest 
  is 
  formed 
  by 
  joining 
  

   together 
  the 
  edges 
  of 
  adjacent 
  leaves 
  with 
  

   silky 
  webs. 
  It 
  is 
  not 
  very 
  easy 
  to 
  ob- 
  

   serve 
  the 
  little 
  creatures 
  at 
  their 
  work, 
  as 
  

   they 
  endeavor 
  to 
  scare 
  off 
  every 
  intruder 
  by 
  death-defying 
  at- 
  

   tacks 
  in 
  force. 
  An 
  observer, 
  Dr. 
  F. 
  Doflein, 
  who, 
  in 
  a 
  high 
  

   tree-top 
  in 
  Ceylon 
  (defying 
  the 
  itching 
  biting), 
  made 
  a 
  rent 
  

   in 
  such 
  a 
  nest, 
  saw 
  how 
  a 
  detachment 
  separated 
  itself 
  from 
  

   the 
  hundreds 
  of 
  Jittle 
  defensive 
  animals 
  and 
  sought 
  to 
  repair 
  

   the 
  rent. 
  The 
  female 
  working-ant 
  digs 
  the 
  sharp 
  claws 
  of 
  her 
  

   two 
  pairs 
  of 
  hind 
  legs 
  into 
  the 
  smooth 
  leaf, 
  the 
  forelegs 
  and 
  

   antennas 
  high 
  in 
  the 
  air, 
  and 
  the 
  masticators 
  open 
  for 
  biting. 
  

   A 
  repair 
  detachment, 
  drawn 
  up 
  in 
  a 
  straight 
  line 
  beside 
  each 
  

   other, 
  grasps 
  the 
  edge 
  of 
  the 
  other 
  leaf 
  in 
  their 
  jaws 
  and 
  

   draws 
  it 
  nearer 
  to 
  the 
  edge 
  of 
  their 
  own 
  leaf, 
  while 
  the 
  little 
  

   creatures, 
  fixing 
  the 
  claws 
  of 
  all 
  six 
  feet 
  in 
  the 
  leaf, 
  carefully 
  

   set 
  one 
  foot 
  round 
  the 
  other 
  backward, 
  and 
  at 
  the 
  same 
  

   time 
  thereby 
  draw 
  the 
  edge 
  of 
  the 
  further 
  leaf 
  nearer. 
  Other 
  

   female 
  working 
  ants 
  hurry 
  hither, 
  biting 
  off 
  the 
  still 
  clinging 
  

   remnants 
  of 
  tissue, 
  and 
  bearing 
  them 
  to 
  the 
  ends 
  of 
  leaves 
  or 
  

   of 
  branches, 
  where, 
  simultaneously 
  letting 
  go, 
  as 
  if 
  at 
  word 
  

   of 
  command, 
  they 
  cast 
  to 
  the 
  winds 
  the 
  conjointly 
  detached 
  

   shreds. 
  After 
  much 
  exertion 
  the 
  repairers 
  brought 
  the 
  

   leaf 
  edges 
  so 
  close 
  together 
  that 
  the 
  actual 
  work 
  of 
  weaving 
  

   could 
  begin. 
  There 
  now 
  appeared 
  female 
  workers 
  with 
  

   larvae 
  between 
  their 
  jaws, 
  and 
  moved 
  the 
  pointed 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  

   larvae 
  back 
  and 
  forth, 
  from 
  edge 
  to 
  edge, 
  each 
  time 
  pausing 
  

   a 
  little, 
  that 
  the 
  spinning 
  thread 
  that 
  was 
  being 
  detached 
  

   from 
  the 
  larvae 
  might 
  take 
  hold 
  upon 
  the 
  edge 
  of 
  the 
  leaf. 
  In 
  

   one 
  of 
  the 
  accompanying 
  figures 
  can 
  be 
  seen 
  the 
  tongs-like, 
  

   larvae-clasping 
  jaws 
  of 
  the 
  weavers, 
  who 
  were 
  now 
  in 
  the 
  

   manner 
  described 
  covering 
  the 
  rent 
  with 
  a 
  thick, 
  silky 
  web. 
  

   The 
  web 
  is 
  so 
  tough 
  that 
  it 
  may 
  be 
  cut 
  with 
  scissors. 
  The 
  

   weaver-ants 
  make 
  use, 
  then, 
  in 
  its 
  manufacture 
  of 
  their 
  

   larvae 
  at 
  once 
  as 
  distaffs 
  and 
  as 
  shuttles. 
  They 
  are 
  the 
  only 
  

   animals 
  among 
  whom, 
  so 
  far, 
  the 
  use 
  of 
  a 
  tool 
  has 
  been 
  

   observed. 
  In 
  the 
  construction 
  of 
  the 
  globular 
  leaf-nests 
  the 
  

   presence 
  of 
  cochineal-insect 
  colonies 
  is 
  especially 
  attractive, 
  

   as 
  the 
  excretions 
  of 
  these 
  creatures 
  are 
  a 
  real 
  treat 
  to 
  the 
  ants. 
  

   If 
  we 
  betake 
  ourselves 
  from 
  India 
  to 
  South 
  America, 
  

   here, 
  too, 
  are 
  found 
  ants 
  that 
  are 
  good 
  at 
  weaving. 
  More 
  

   remarkable, 
  however, 
  there 
  are 
  the 
  leaf-cutter 
  ants, 
  which 
  

   lay 
  out, 
  manure, 
  weed 
  and 
  reap 
  regular 
  fungus-gardens. 
  The 
  

   leaf-cutter 
  or 
  dragging-ants 
  are 
  so 
  named 
  from 
  their 
  attack- 
  

   ing 
  in 
  dense 
  swarms 
  shrubs 
  and 
  bushes, 
  cutting 
  out 
  pieces 
  of 
  

   leaves 
  and 
  dragging 
  them 
  long 
  distances 
  into 
  their 
  nests, 
  

   always 
  built 
  covered, 
  where 
  the 
  pieces 
  of 
  leaves 
  furnish 
  the 
  

   subsoil 
  for 
  fungus-gardens. 
  These 
  female 
  leaf-cutters 
  often 
  

   in 
  a 
  short 
  time 
  entirely 
  strip 
  shrubs 
  and 
  saplings 
  of 
  their 
  

   foliage. 
  The 
  cutting 
  out 
  of 
  the 
  pieces 
  of 
  leaves 
  they 
  accom- 
  

   plish 
  by 
  turning 
  upon 
  their 
  hind 
  legs 
  as 
  a 
  center 
  and 
  roundly 
  

   cutting 
  out 
  a 
  piece 
  of 
  leaf, 
  as 
  with 
  a 
  pair 
  of 
  scissors, 
  with 
  

   their 
  saw-like 
  jaws 
  pressed 
  together. 
  Though 
  the 
  pieces 
  of 
  

   leaves 
  often 
  have 
  four 
  times 
  the 
  length 
  and 
  several 
  times 
  the 
  

   weight 
  of 
  the 
  ant, 
  they 
  are 
  yet 
  conveyed 
  over 
  paths 
  which 
  

   take 
  the 
  little 
  creatures 
  hours 
  to 
  travel. 
  The 
  paths 
  unite 
  

   in 
  a 
  highway, 
  where 
  from 
  all 
  sides 
  laden 
  working-ants 
  con- 
  

   verge 
  and 
  present 
  a 
  peculiar 
  appearance 
  — 
  rows 
  of 
  curiously 
  

   formed 
  pieces 
  of 
  leaves 
  totteringly 
  moving 
  forward, 
  under 
  

  

  which 
  the 
  bearers 
  almost 
  disappear. 
  These 
  dragging-ants 
  

   are 
  eminently 
  skilful 
  road- 
  and 
  vault-engineers. 
  With 
  their 
  

   jaws 
  they 
  tear 
  off 
  in 
  the 
  course 
  of 
  the 
  way 
  to 
  be 
  built 
  one 
  

   small 
  bit 
  of 
  earth 
  after 
  another, 
  and 
  pile 
  them 
  right 
  and 
  

   left 
  in 
  a 
  wall; 
  elsewhere 
  they 
  vault 
  the 
  way 
  over 
  till 
  it 
  be- 
  

   comes 
  invisible. 
  Certain 
  female 
  workers 
  hurrying, 
  without 
  

   employment, 
  hither 
  and 
  thither 
  upon 
  the 
  way 
  look 
  after 
  

   the 
  improvement 
  of 
  the 
  roads. 
  They 
  form 
  in 
  a 
  certain 
  

   measure 
  a 
  flying-column, 
  which 
  has 
  to 
  remove 
  the 
  obstacles 
  

   to 
  traffic 
  often 
  found 
  upon 
  the 
  way. 
  

  

  The 
  fungus-raising 
  ants 
  (of 
  which 
  there 
  are 
  several 
  kinds) 
  

   build 
  their 
  nests 
  in 
  cavities 
  underground, 
  under 
  stones, 
  

   roots 
  of 
  trees, 
  the 
  bark 
  of 
  inwardly 
  rotting, 
  fallen 
  tree- 
  

   trunks 
  — 
  in 
  fine, 
  everywhere 
  where 
  either 
  they 
  are 
  well 
  cov- 
  

   ered 
  by 
  nature 
  externally, 
  or 
  where 
  they 
  themselves, 
  by 
  

   means 
  of 
  piling 
  up 
  leaves 
  and 
  twigs, 
  can 
  manufacture 
  a 
  pro- 
  

   tecting 
  covering. 
  On 
  the 
  inside 
  of 
  the 
  nests 
  is 
  found 
  merely 
  

   a 
  gray, 
  sponge-like, 
  incompact 
  mass, 
  which 
  extends 
  up 
  to 
  

   two 
  yards 
  in 
  length 
  and 
  several 
  handbreadths 
  in 
  height, 
  

   but 
  never 
  reaches 
  to 
  the 
  walls 
  of 
  the 
  cavities. 
  In 
  the 
  spongy 
  

   growth, 
  which 
  abounds 
  in 
  apertures, 
  the 
  ants 
  actively 
  work, 
  

   and 
  their 
  eggs, 
  larvae 
  and 
  pupae 
  lie 
  scattered 
  around. 
  What, 
  

   however 
  — 
  contrary 
  to 
  all 
  expectation 
  — 
  are 
  not 
  discovered 
  in 
  

   the 
  nest 
  are 
  the 
  quantities 
  of 
  pieces 
  of 
  leaves 
  brought 
  in, 
  

   whose 
  loss 
  bushes 
  and 
  shrubs 
  are 
  mourning. 
  Have 
  the 
  ants 
  

   eaten 
  the 
  pieces 
  of 
  leaves? 
  No; 
  for 
  the 
  creatures 
  have 
  been 
  

   kept 
  imprisoned, 
  and 
  they 
  prefer 
  going 
  hungry 
  to 
  feeding 
  on 
  

   leaves. 
  When, 
  however, 
  they 
  were 
  given 
  something 
  from 
  

   the 
  incompact, 
  gray, 
  flocculent 
  mass 
  of 
  fungus, 
  then 
  they 
  at 
  

   once 
  began 
  to 
  use 
  this 
  "free 
  estate" 
  in 
  the 
  laying-out 
  of 
  a 
  

   fungus-garden, 
  to 
  which 
  they 
  gave 
  the 
  chopped-leaf 
  ma- 
  

   terial 
  as 
  fostering 
  subsoil. 
  The 
  pieces 
  of 
  leaves 
  are 
  cut 
  up 
  

   into 
  many 
  little 
  bits 
  by 
  means 
  of 
  chewing 
  and 
  pressure. 
  The 
  

   bits 
  are 
  thoroughly 
  soaked, 
  kneaded 
  and 
  shaped, 
  and 
  finally 
  

   inserted 
  in 
  the 
  fungus-garden 
  as 
  systematically 
  as 
  a 
  mason 
  

   presses 
  down 
  into 
  its 
  bed 
  the 
  last 
  brick 
  into 
  a 
  new, 
  just- 
  

   laid 
  course. 
  

  

  Ants, 
  as 
  is 
  well 
  known, 
  sometimes 
  desert 
  their 
  homes. 
  

   When, 
  in 
  consequence 
  of 
  unwelcome 
  disturbances, 
  the 
  ants 
  

   leave 
  their 
  nest, 
  then 
  the 
  fungus-garden 
  is 
  taken 
  along. 
  It 
  is, 
  

   as 
  manifold 
  experiments 
  have 
  indubitably 
  shown, 
  their 
  only 
  

   source 
  of 
  nourishment. 
  They 
  eat 
  the 
  little 
  globules, 
  rich 
  in 
  

   plasma, 
  which 
  appear 
  to 
  the 
  naked 
  eye 
  merely 
  as 
  white 
  dots 
  

   on 
  the 
  surface 
  of 
  the 
  mass 
  of 
  fungus. 
  By 
  means 
  of 
  minutely 
  

   exact 
  experiments 
  it 
  is 
  established 
  that 
  only 
  this 
  one 
  fungus, 
  

   and 
  no 
  others, 
  grows 
  upon 
  the 
  carefully 
  constructed 
  fos- 
  

   tering-soil. 
  Foreign 
  material 
  is 
  weeded 
  out, 
  while 
  an 
  enor- 
  

   mous 
  number 
  of 
  the 
  smallest 
  female 
  working-ants 
  continually 
  

   removes 
  the 
  foreign 
  filaments 
  and 
  spores 
  of 
  fungus 
  acci- 
  

   dentally 
  dragged 
  in, 
  which 
  might 
  overgrow 
  the 
  garden. 
  We 
  

   here 
  have 
  before 
  us, 
  then, 
  pure 
  cultures, 
  carried 
  out 
  by 
  ani- 
  

   mals, 
  of 
  a 
  wholly 
  definite 
  fungus. 
  

  

  These 
  ants 
  too, 
  are 
  infected 
  by 
  the 
  modern 
  colonizing 
  

   spirit. 
  When 
  a 
  queen 
  of 
  the 
  ants 
  burrows 
  into 
  the 
  earth 
  after 
  

   the 
  marriage 
  flight 
  and 
  plants 
  a 
  new 
  colony, 
  shut 
  off 
  from 
  the 
  

   outside 
  world, 
  occupied 
  only 
  with 
  egg-laying 
  and 
  the 
  breed- 
  

   ing 
  of 
  her 
  young, 
  she 
  has 
  nevertheless 
  then 
  brought 
  with 
  her 
  

   from 
  the 
  old 
  nest 
  "free 
  estate" 
  for 
  the 
  laying 
  out 
  of 
  a 
  

   fungus-garden. 
  Of 
  the 
  extraordinarily 
  remarkable 
  proceed- 
  

   ings 
  at 
  the 
  planting 
  of 
  such 
  a 
  colony, 
  Dr. 
  Jakob 
  Huber-Para 
  

   recently 
  published 
  his 
  observations 
  made 
  upon 
  the 
  genus 
  

   Atta 
  sexdens 
  in 
  several 
  series 
  of 
  experiments. 
  We 
  see 
  in 
  

  

  