Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-05-12
OCCUPATIONS OF ANIMALS.

OCCUPATIONS OF ANIMALS.
Dynamise F1emds, UmAertnkeru. Doc
tors and EstheteS-Birds that Build
Apartment Houses and Keep Hotels
Spider Sailors.
From the New York Sun.
There's curious reflection Of human affairs
In the actions Of the lower animals" said the
naturalist to the reporter
Everything but the dynamite phase, sng-
gested the latter.
fNo, won't except that, /" was the reply. land
I'll wager you can't mention q class of men or
an occupation followed by them to which can't
show you something similar In the so-called
lower animal Kingdom"
The reporter suggested the dynamite fiend.
swell" continued the naturalist, pulling out
adrawer upon which was ablood-curdling name
there's beetle that belongs to the explosive
brotherhood, and so powerful an agent 1t is that
1t IL called the Bombardier,' and is ready to go
of at moments notice. It is as tou see, an
Old-fashi0ned sort Of fellow-dOesn't affect
long hair and the like; but let an enemy follow
1t too closely and 1t stops suddenly, and II you
OF smoke would rise In the air, and the pursuer
would be completely demoralized. ] have seen
these bOmbardiers fire five or six times in as
many minutes, wh!rling about a. II taking
aim. The explosives come from gland. Quite
number of animals carry explosives. The
| larvm Of some dragon flies eject liquid irritat-
Ing to mfM The Squids, however, lead in
this respect. / remember drifting along over
the reef at Nassau several years ago. and seeing
several squids just below the surface, put out
my hand, and in second my dearest friend
wouldn't have known me. l was literally
drenched with ink, which was thrown from
distance Of at least three feet. It was indelble,
and / stu have the vouchers In the way OF
stained linen"
Here the naturalist took down drawer Ia
belled .'Myrmele0n," and said: Here is not only
plOtter, but diagram of Its trap. The pro-
pensity seems bred in the b0ne as It is INDUCED
| In by the young insects. When first Matched the
insect seeks ont q soft soil on some miniature
sandy plain. 1t generally holds its head in place
at one point, while Its body is Whirled about like
a pair of divitlers. This DONE the insect begins
throwing out the sand; some is carried. but the
| greater part Is removed Ola q plan that at least
| shows an attempt at labor saving. With quick
movement the worker shovels q load upon its
head and by q backward upward jerk hurls it far
out OF the excavation If pebble or stone ia met
with 1t Is tossed out In the same way. Masses
half as large as the worker being hurled over
foot away. When alarge stone is encountered the
intelligence displayed Ia remarkable. The en-
gineer seems to know that the rock can't be
tossed, and so he carefully rolls 1t upon his head
and proceeds to climb up the incline Ot the Dit
Naturally the stone would roll of of any in
| high In air, and 80 crawls up the side with the
stone on perfect level. have seen them try
stone ten or fifteen times, and then give it
| up and select another location. After the pit
is completed 1t represents the cast of an in
| verted cOhe, and at the bottom the insect con-
ceals itself, leaving only its two enormous Jaws
| prOtruding. You see here on this diagram the
whole tragedy Is enacted. We will suppose
that this ant Is the Car on the way to corona
| tion. He PUSHES along. comes to the pit with
his attendants, steps on the prepared slides, and
goes rolling down into the mouth OF the living
or nihliist trap below. Perhaps when half way
down the ant regains foothOld, and seems In q
| fair way to escape, but the trap-maker throws
OF all concealment, quickly shOvels sand upon
Its head, and hurls load after load at the victim
! who rolls down helpless into his enemy's laws
| and is destroyed. When the trap-maker has
| sucked the blood, he unceremoniously hoists
! the remains upop his head and throws them out
upon the sand. The pit is then repaired for the
next victim.
among the animal workers all occupations
| are found. Take q colony Of bees, for instance
In forming nest one set Of bees are ordinary
laborers. and form the rough cells. set Of
skilled laborers then take hold and shape the
cells. and 30 on. Among the ants the workers
not only have their share of work to do. but
they differ from the others In shape and general
appearance, the king. queens. soldiers and Ia
| borers being all markedly different In appear
ance. The soldiers have enormous laws. but
never work. They rush out ferceiy when sou
break into q nest. II the enemy Is not visible
| they return, and the laborers come out and be-
gin repairs. The army ants Of South America
| show great intelligence. The workers like our
sappers and miners, often go ahead and form
protective arch, under which the soldiers march
| and SO rapidly Is this thrown up that the on
ward march is not delayed. The ants are also
slave owners They capture ants of other
species and force them to work for them and
| attend them AZ body servants. So luxurious do
some OF these slave owners become that they
| are utterly helpless when deprived of their me-
niais The latter not only walt on their masters.
put ieeu them. II the slaves are taken away
| their owners perish.
"Ants are also farmers. In Texas q tribe col
lect the seeds of various plants and plant them
In close proximity to their homes, so that they
| can benefit by the seed. The farmer or grain
| ants of Europe store up vast supplies In under
ground granaries. After q damp season the
seeds are taken out and laid in the sun and
finally returned"
'How is it the seeds don't sprout3" asked the
reporter
'That's the most wonderful part of It. The
seeds don't sprout, though there they are plant
ed under ground and kept fresh. It is supposed
that the ants bite the seeds In some way so that
they are in state Of coma, just as wasps sting
animals 80 that they remain insensible for
months. Ants may be said also to keep COWS
not exactly Durhams, but insects that answer
the same purpose. They collect the plant lice,
and. by caressing them in some way, force or
| induce them to give out or exude q drop OF
sweet liquor. have seen five or ak ants await
Ing their turn to milk one Of these COWS. The
ants often collect the eggs Of the aphides, place
them on plants near their homes, and care for
them In many ways, just as we do for our blood
ed stock. In the fall ants have been known to
take their cows under ground and try to keep
them through the winter. Many ants keep bee
ties and other insects as pets, some as play
fellows others on account OF their odor Sew
eral hundred distinct species Of insects are in
this way kept prisoners under ground.
I'm engineering the ants are equally sklful.
They bridge wide rivers by Joining together their
bodies, clinging one to another, and thus FORM
ing long string that the wind blows across the
stream. In this way a bridge is formed over
| which an entire army passes"
4 flames. James Crpa shril1 y,,ico frn,,,