ANTS 
51 
gas will escape, and the effect of the liquid 
will be largely lost. 
But there is a species of ants in warm 
climates that have nests in trees that are 
inaccessible. Other ants are so small, and 
Fig. 1.-—The Calkins ant-proof hive-stand. It differs 
from no other hive-stand except that near each of 
its four corners it has 20-penny spikes driven in 
about half their length, and gauged to fit snugly to 
the inside rim of the reversible bottom-board on each 
side. Around the projecting portion of the spikes 
is wound felting which is afterward soaked in axle 
grease. On top of these four nails is carefully 
adjusted a colony of bees as shown in Fig. 2. For 
obvious reasons the alighting board connects with 
the hive-stand and not with bottom-board of hive. 
come such long distances, that it is almost 
impossible to find their nest. In such cases 
it has been recommended to place within 
their reach some syrup or honey mixed 
with arsenic, Paris green, London purple, 
or strychnine. It is unnecessary to say that 
all vessels containing such poisonous mix¬ 
tures should be placed in a box covered 
with screen just fine enough to keep out 
the bees, and coarse enough to admit the 
ants. They will work on these poisonous 
mixtures, and carry them home to their 
young, with the result that both mature in¬ 
sects as well as larva will be destroyed, no 
matter where the nest may be. 
The box containing the poisonous sweet 
should be put in the trail of the ants. It is 
usually necessary to get the ants started on 
something that they like that is not poison¬ 
ous—a piece of fat chicken meat, for in¬ 
stance, then add the poison when they are 
well started. 
When it does not seem practicable to de¬ 
stroy the pests they may be kept away from 
the hive temporarily by pouring a little 
narrow trail of kerosene clear around the 
hive or hives; or, better, by the plan here 
shown. 
Mr. Poppleton of Florida has graphi¬ 
cally described in Gleanings the carnivor¬ 
ous ants. 
With one exception these ants are the 
worst enemies bees have here in Florida, and 
only constant vigilance from September to 
December inclusive will prevent the loss of 
many colonies every season. These ants are 
usually found in our hummock lands, and 
only occasionally in clean pine woods; are 
red in color; of a very large size; frequently 
measuring nearly or quite half an inch in 
length ; are strictly nocturnal in their habits, 
being seldom seen in ddytime except when 
disturbed or waging battle with a colony of 
bees; are usually found in decayed wood, 
thru which they eat out galleries for use as 
living-apartments. A favorite place is in a 
saw-palmetto root in the ground. Nearly 
every cabbage-palmetto tree contains a colo¬ 
ny of them among the “boots” near its top, 
and for this reason a thick palmetto grove 
is one of the worst places where an apiary 
can be located. They are also found in piles 
of old boards, and on the ground under 
boards or logs. They also like to enter our 
Fig. 2—A colony of bees resting on four 20-penny 
nails driven half-way down into the hive-stand. As 
explained in Fig. 1, these nails are surrounded with 
felting which is dipped in axle grease, which does 
not evaporate so readily as creosote, altho the latter 
would be satisfactory. The colonies thus protected 
are free from any further visitation of their old 
friends the enemy, 'Ants are real pests in California, 
