Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1884-03-14
ABOUT ANTS.
Their Homes and Their nah;ts.

ABOUT ANTS.
Their Homes and Their Rah.ts.
Master Charles X. Bolton, fifteen
| Fears old, contributes the following in
ereStiug article to the CONGREGATIONAL
81. He had no help in writing it. If
sther boys would turn their attention to
natural history it might keep them out
d mischief, to say nothing of tho in
itrpction and discipline they would re-
| ,eive:
! Some WARM day, when You 10 not
| know what 10 do, find an ant-hill under
shady tree and watch the little fellows
at their work. This is what | have been
doing. The ring of earth around the
hole, like the wall of a fort, IS familiar,
but the most interesting part of their
home Is underground. Soc them drag
The pebbles out of the hole in tie center.
If YOU could follow it down YOU would
Gnd the way Irregular and at the end a
number of galleries, each supported by
little pillars of earth. The young ants
are kept on these shelves, and, in fact,
Il is their city.
Here the chief men meet to talk over
thS hA0btSAS vi lliS COlbHN. huI NOM can
they talk? Put an ant under tho micro
scope and you will see two little pro-
lectures on the head called mandbles.
The ant touches its mandibles to those
of its neighbour, and thus they speak.
Ants are very strong, persevering and
industrious, some working all night. |
have seen an ant carry n store three or
four times its size. They arc fond of
sweet things. Once | laid Il piece of
sugar near hole. An ant soon found
it, and although the piece was many
times rs largo as itself, It lifted the
sugar above its head and started for the
hill. All went well uutil the hill was
reached. 1t would get hold of the sugar
and attempt to drag it up, but when the
first pebble was struck it would roll
over ssand over. And last, by levelng n
place SO as to set y start, by tho coca
sional help oil q passing ant, the sugar
was pulled over tho hill.
! noticed spider one dav, stop TO
rest near an ant-hill The ants soon
saw him and four or five came out.
They took hold of his legs and swarmed
on his back. He was dragged into the
hole and the rest llocked out to help eat
him up. The ants carry their young
out every pleasant day to lie in the sun,
and at the first sight of rain they hurry
them into their house. These little
creatures have good memories and
never forget their friends. II an ant be
taken out Of an ant-hill, kept for two
months and then put back into the
same hill, it will be received; but If il
be placed in another, it will be killed.
In Texas there is found the agricult-
ural" ant. These clear place from
weeds and grass for about two feet
around their house. Then they drop
the seed OF kind of grass, whose grain
they like very much The ants take
care of the young blades, protecting
them from insects, and when the grain
is ripe carry it into their homes. But
what is more peculiar, if the store of
food should become damp during
rain, it will all be carried out on the firse
sunny day and dried, and then brought
back.
One of the most interesting things
about the ant nation is their cows,
which are kept and herded like ours.
Some small insects, called aphides, or
plant-Gce, have two little horns on the
abdomen. When the ant is hungry it
touches these horns with its mandibles,
and the aphis gives out Il drop of sweet
fluid of which the ant is very fond
These aphides live on the sap of trees
The ''miner" ant, which is very timid,
makes little room under ground for
its flock. The colony which has the
most COWS is considered the wealthiest
In South America great armies of
ants start out plundering everything
they meet. Even horses and men flee
before them; they 90 ali through
house. killing and eating up everything
that they can find. When they come
to river, they climb upon limb that
hangs over the water. One ant holds
on to the end of the ranch: another
takes hold of the first, and so on until
they have formed long string. They
hang in this way until the end floating
on the water is carried across by the
wind or current. When it touches tho
opposite shore an ant catches hold of
stick or weed and SO makes living
chain. On each side of this chain an
other row is formed, SO that the bridge
Is three ants wide. Over it the whole
company pass. It's even said that these
bridges are sometimes made hollow or
tubular, so that the young ants may be
protected from the sun. When the wet
season comes and the ground is covered
with water, the ants form themselves into
balls, as large as an orange, and float
around until it goes down.
In some parts of the world there are
''red" or "warrior' ants. These do
not like to work, and are not able
to feed themselves. Huber, the
naturalist, to prove this, put number
of ants into glass case with some of
their favorite food, but they could not |
eat it, and many died of starvation. He |
then put in a single black ant, which /
had been kept as servant by the red I
ants This Immediately carried food |
to them, and in a short time they were
prospecting. The black ants are very
industrious, SO the warrior ants steal
their young TO bring up as slaves. The
red are great fighters, and the black
like to work for them because they are
well protected. Each summer the war
riors make a raid on their black neigh
bors, because if the slaves should die,
the colony would perish. The robbers
form themselves in line-an officer TO
about twenty men-and send scouts
ahead to find a suitable colony to at
tack. When one is found, they inform
their friends. The soldiers march to
the place, where they are met by the
Inhabitants. The blacks swarm around
their home. When one climbs on the
back of red ant, another warrior pulls
him of. Soon the poor little blacks
are obliged to fec. and the victors car
ry away their children in triumph.
These are taken home to their slaves,
who care for them until the little fel-
lows are able to work.
The slaves, instead of being sorry for
their relatives, like to have them stolen,
because they think that the black ants
are better protected by their warriors
shan they would be at home. II the at
tempt should be unsuccessful. and
their masters should return without I
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