Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1880-06-09

at height of five feet from the ground.
"These proceedings says he, "are by
no means common; we cannot attribute
! them to habitual routine" Indeed,
the modes of preserving their cattle
seem to be as various as those practic-
ed by man.
Some ants receive their food from
the aphides which suck the juices of
the common plantain, and these at first
take their station near the flower
of the plant; as soon as the
flowers wither these insect-cows take
shelter under the radicle leaves where
upon the ants that before had climbed
up to them now surrounded them with
mud wall, and, making a covered
gallery by way of communication be-
tween their nest and the paddock, F"
extract food from them at their con-
venience and pleasure.
During autumn, winter and spring
many species of ants keep aphides. In
deed, in winter they would be exposed
to the danger of famine did they not
rely for food on their cattle {; for though
they become torpid when exposed to
intense cold, yet, for the most part, the
depth of their nests preserves temper
ature for them sufficiently high to pre-
vent this contingency. Their milch
cows are then kept on the roots of the
plants which penetrate the interior of
the nest, and furnish an abundant sup
ply of liquid, in which their keepers
delight And not only is the full grown
animal kept, but its eggs are watched
and guarded with that care which war
rant us in supposing that the ant knows
their full value. 1t is of real conse-
quence to the ants that the Matching of
the eggs of the aphides should take
place as early in the spring as possible,
in order to insure an early supply of
food for their colony; and with the
view of fastening this event they de-
posit them in the warmest part of their
dwelling, and in fine weather bring
them to the surface of the nest to give
them the advantage of the sun.
Plant lice, or aphides, differ much in
form, color, clothing, and in the length
of the honey tubes Some have these
Tubes quite long, as the rose louise
(Aphis ros@), which is green, and has
little conical projection, or stylet as
it is commonly called, at the ex-
tremity of the body between the two
honey tubes. These insects seem to
love society, and often herd together
in dense masses, each one remaining
fixed to the plant by means of its long
tubular beak and they rarely change
their places till they have exhaused the
first part attacked. The attitudes and
manners of these little creatures are
extremely amusing When disturbed,
like restive horses, they begin to kick
and sprawl in the most ludicrous mau-
ner. They may be seen, at times, sus-
pended by tteir beaks alone, and throw
ing up their legs as if in high frolic,
but too much engaged in sucking to
withdraw their beaks. AS they take
in great quantities of sap they would
soon become gorged if they did not get
rid of it through the little tubes at the
extremity of their bodies. When one
of them gets running-over full it seems
to communicate its uneasy sensations,
by kind of animal magnetism, to the
whole flock, upon which they all, with
one accord, jerk upward their bodies
and eject shower of the honeyed fluid.
The leaves and bark of plants much in
tested by these insects are often COM
pletely sprinkled over with drops Of
this sticky fluid, and which on drying
become dark colored, and greatly dis
figure the foliage. This appearance
has been styled "honey-dew," but
should not be confounded with another
similar production observable on plants
after very dry weather, which has re-
ceived the same name, and which con-
sists of an extravasation or oozing of
the sap from the leaves.-Scientifc