244 
ANIMAL CURIOSITIES 
The leaf-cutting ants ( CEcodoma) are also 
agriculturists, inasmuch as they cut away 
portions of leaves which they carry to their 
nests and form into manure beds for the 
cultivation of a special kind of fungus, upon 
which they feed. 
These “ mushroom ” beds are looked after 
with great care, the temperature of the under¬ 
ground chambers being regulated to a nicety 
by opening or closing the entrances of the 
various galleries leading thereto. 
Quite a number of animals follow the occupa¬ 
tion of a trapper. The ant-lion employs a 
most ingenious method for catching its prey, 
forming a cone-shaped pit (measuring two or 
three inches across at the top) in dry and sandy 
soil, and then burying itself at the bottom to 
await the approach of its victims. Should 
an insect investigate the nature of the pit 
and take a step over the brink, the loose sand 
gives way beneath its weight and the creature 
tumbles headlong to the bottom, right into the 
ant-lion’s jaws. Even if the victim be larger 
and stronger than the lurking foe the former 
has little chance of escape, for the more it 
struggles and endeavours to run up the sloping 
sides of the pit the more it disturbs and brings 
down the loose sand upon itself, the ant-lion 
in the meanwhile throwing the soil out again 
