224 
DISEASES OF THE COTTON PLANT. 
dew, however, is a swe«t liquid, ejected from the anal 
tubercles of the cotton-louse, and elaborated in its own 
body, from the sap which had previously been extracted 
from leaves or young shoots, and which, if not immediately 
devoured by the ants, is ejected by the plant-louse, and 
falls in drops upon the upper portions of the leaves that 
are beneath, making them appear as if varnished, or, if old, 
causing the places thus defiled to be black and rusty, as if 
aflfected with a black mildew, or rust. 
The ants feed voraciously upon this honey-dew, whea 
fresh, and cause the aphides to eject the substance at will, 
by merely tapping their abdomens with their antennae ; the 
drop ejected is immediately devoured by the ants, and 
other aphides are visited and subjected to the same treat- 
ment, until the appetites of the ants are satisfied, when 
they either loiter about the leaves or descend to their nests 
in the gTOund. Ants are of utility in devouring any weak 
or disabled insects they may encounter in their path, or in 
consuming any animal substances which might otherwise 
contaminate the air. 
Ants are generally divided into "males," "females," 
and " neuters." The males and females, at one stage of 
their growth, are furnished with wings, which the female 
gnaws or casts otF when about to form a colony. The 
neuters afterward form the general mass. There are 
several varieties of the ant found in the cotton fields, of 
very different habits and appearance. The most numerous 
make a hole in the earth, and form a sort of hillock around 
it, of the grains of earth or sand brought up from below 
the surface of the ground, and from this nest they make 
excursions in every direction in search of food. 
There is also another species — "red ants," so called, 
but in reality belonging to the family Mutillidce. They are 
