806 Marvels of the Universe 
them in their nests during the winter ; and when they hatch, they carry the young Plant Lice out 
of the nest and place them on their proper plants. The writer has often found these eggs, which 
are covered with a thick black membrane, in large numbers in ants’ nests. 
Of the underground species which live on roots, many are only found in ants’-nests, and some of 
the yellow subterranean ants live exclusively on the excrement of Root Aphides. Some of these 
have not even been described, and the writer has collected many species which have not yet been 
identified. When winged forms are hatched in the nests of ants, the latter clear a way for them, 
to allow them to escape into the open. We give a figure of a winged Aphis which was found by the 
writer in a Wood-ant’s nest at Oxshott. It was new to science, and was described by the late 
Mr. Buckton, who wrote a monograph on the British Plant Lice. When an ants’-nest is disturbed 
[By Theo. Carreras. 
ROOT APHIDES. 
Many Aphides live on underground roots, and these are similarly cherished by the ants. Some ants will collect the eggs of 
Aphides and keep them in their nest during the winter. When the young Aphides are hatched out they will then carry them 
out of the nest and place them on their proper food-plants. 
which contains subterranean Aphides, their hosts may be seen to pick up the “cows’”’ and carry 
them down the galleries into safety. The most truly ant-loving Aphis is a species which is called 
the “‘ bug-like ”’ one, as it is superficially very like a small bed-bug. This insect is never found any- 
where except in the nests of ants. It chiefly inhabits the nests of a little brown ant, often found 
under stones on our coasts. It has occurred to the writer in numbers with its hosts in Cornwall. It 
is more active than the rest of the underground species ; it walks about freely in the chambers of 
the nest, and is not always fastened to underground roots. When the nest is disturbed, it hurries 
down the galleries of its own accord into safety. It also salutes its host with the back legs when 
approached by an ant. A large white species, found with the little garden ant, has a similar habit. 
These insects produce vast quantities of their ‘‘ honey-dew,” and it is not surprising that ants 
should have found out their value, and utilized them as cows. 
