﻿September, 
  1907 
  

  

  AMERICAN 
  HOMES 
  AND 
  GARDENS 
  

  

  359 
  

  

  the 
  illustration 
  a 
  breeding-cave 
  of 
  a 
  mother 
  of 
  ants, 
  and 
  a 
  

   little 
  fungus-garden 
  in 
  it. 
  How 
  did 
  it 
  get 
  in? 
  From 
  the 
  old 
  

   nest 
  the 
  little 
  Atta 
  female 
  took 
  along 
  in 
  the 
  back 
  part 
  of 
  her 
  

   mouth-cavity 
  a 
  tiny 
  globular 
  flock 
  as 
  a 
  nucleus. 
  This 
  flock 
  

   consists 
  of 
  filaments 
  of 
  fungus 
  and 
  chopped-leaf 
  material, 
  

   and 
  furnishes 
  the 
  foundation 
  for 
  a 
  new 
  fungus-garden. 
  In 
  

   the 
  first 
  days 
  the 
  fungus 
  ball 
  is 
  picked 
  to 
  pieces; 
  the 
  indi- 
  

   vidual 
  parts 
  grow, 
  and 
  in 
  from 
  eight 
  to 
  ten 
  days 
  they 
  form 
  

   a 
  disk 
  half 
  an 
  inch 
  in 
  diameter. 
  After 
  twenty 
  days 
  more 
  

   the 
  fungus-garden 
  measures 
  nearly 
  an 
  inch, 
  and 
  already 
  

   shows 
  at 
  the 
  edge 
  clusters 
  of 
  globules. 
  The 
  queen 
  ant 
  

  

  plants 
  the 
  fourteen-day-old 
  garden 
  with 
  about 
  a 
  hundred 
  

   eggs. 
  The 
  question 
  now 
  arises, 
  Where, 
  then, 
  does 
  the 
  

   fungus 
  get 
  the 
  nourishment 
  for 
  growth? 
  At 
  first 
  scarce 
  a 
  

   fiftieth 
  of 
  an 
  inch 
  big, 
  it 
  soon 
  measures 
  an 
  inch. 
  The 
  mother- 
  

   ant 
  is 
  all 
  alone, 
  never 
  leaves 
  the 
  cave; 
  so 
  neither 
  does 
  there 
  

   come 
  in 
  the 
  pieces 
  of 
  leaves, 
  which 
  normally, 
  chopped, 
  soaked 
  

   and 
  kneaded, 
  serve 
  the 
  fungus 
  as 
  fostering 
  soil. 
  With 
  

   what, 
  then, 
  is 
  the 
  little 
  fungus-garden 
  manured? 
  Huber 
  

   observed 
  that 
  the 
  mother-ant 
  tears 
  out 
  flocks 
  of 
  fungus 
  

   with 
  her 
  mandibles, 
  and, 
  sitting 
  on 
  her 
  hind 
  pair 
  of 
  legs, 
  

   presses 
  against 
  her 
  turned-in 
  hinder 
  body, 
  from 
  which 
  a 
  

  

  

  

  W^m 
  

  

  

  

  sfi.kJm 
  

  

  

  : 
  ^^^S^SM 
  

  

  

  Red 
  weaver-ants 
  repairing 
  a 
  rent 
  in 
  their 
  nest 
  

   Sagittal 
  section 
  of 
  the 
  head 
  of 
  a 
  little 
  Atta 
  

  

  female 
  

   The 
  mother-ant 
  manuring 
  the 
  fungus-garden 
  

  

  (instantaneous 
  views) 
  

   So-called 
  cluster 
  of 
  globules 
  

  

  Scenes 
  from 
  the 
  Life 
  of 
  an 
  Ant 
  

  

  Breeding-cave 
  

  

  Feeding 
  larvae, 
  

   showing 
  dif- 
  

   ferent 
  stages 
  

   of 
  assimilat- 
  

   ing 
  an 
  egg 
  

  

  Fourteen-day 
  manured 
  fungus-garden 
  with 
  about 
  one 
  hun- 
  

   dred 
  eggs 
  

  

  Breeding-cave. 
  Vertical 
  section 
  of" 
  a 
  cave 
  of 
  Atta 
  sexdi 
  

   (excavated 
  in 
  the 
  open 
  air) 
  

  

  Sagittal 
  section 
  of 
  head, 
  with 
  changed 
  position 
  of 
  fungus-ball 
  

  

  Female 
  working 
  red 
  weaver-ant 
  

  

  