Marvels of the Universe 943 
store in time of want. They live a quies- 
cent life, hanging to the roofs of the sub- 
terranean chambers in the nest. In the 
words of Professor Wheeler, the celebrated 
American myrmecologist : “‘ Those who, 
in anthropomorphic mood, are wont to 
extol the fervid industry and extraordin- 
ary feats of muscular endurance in ants, 
should not overlook the beatific patience 
and self-sacrifice displayed by the replete 
Honey Ant as it hangs from the rafters 
of its nest, month in, month out—for 
years, perhaps—a reservoir of tempera- 
mental as well as liquid sweetness.” They 
can move about a little, but should they 
fall from the ceiling, they are unable to 
return to their former position without 
assistance. There are often as many as 
three hundred “ honey-pots” in the 
different chambers in a large colony. 
The nests are found on the top of the 
stony ridges in the Garden of the Gods 
and other suitable localities. The large 
circular entrance to the nest is in the 
centre of a cone-shaped crater composed 
of small pebbles. A gallery goes down 
into the ground and is divided into 
smaller ones. These lead to underground 
chambers which have smooth, flattened 
floors and rough, vaulted ceilings. The 
honey-pots hang from these ceilings 
side by side, and the inequality of the © 
roof enables them to hold on by their 
claws. THE JAWS OF THE PORT JACKSON SHARK. 
The workers are nocturnal in their The Port Jackson Shark is a species inhabiting the Australian seas 
Elite andmd omenoome omeutadutingy then /-ser es /°\Mi aniceelcrsusil/nah. asdl (he becurifal tcath are eeaecial 
day. A guard, however, is set at the adapted for crushing hard shells. 
doors of the nest to prevent other ants, or spiders, etc., from forcing an entrance. About half- 
past seven in the evening the workers leave the nest and visit the thickets of slim oaks which are 
in the neighbourhood. The twigs of these oaks are covered by roundish galls caused by a small 
four-winged insect. 
At night these galls exude small drops of a sweet, watery fluid. These drops are eagerly 
sucked up by the foraging ants, and when they return home they feed the repletes with the 
contents of their crops. 
The galls provide probably only a portion of the ants’ food, and they no doubt obtain a large 
quantity of their honey from the scale insects and plant lice which occur on the oaks and other 
plants in the neighbourhood. 
Other species of Honey Ants occur in Australia and South Africa, but the economy of the 
American species has been most fully worked out by McCook and other observers. 
