The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1884-03-25
Some Insects in Florida and Their
Strange Habits,

Sir John Lubbock on WaspS and Ants,
these statements will be interesting only
because they confirm the strangest re-
suits of his observations.
Scientists everywhere now accord to
our brothers lowest in the scale varying
degrees of intelligence, but deny that
they are directed by thought different in
/ kind from ours. If we call this instinct
instead of reason, the difference is one of
/ degree only. While in the southern por
/ ton of this state for two years, the writer
had amply opportunity for the study of
some peculiar phases of insect life.
! Goldsmith thought the ant-liOn, which
| digs a trap for hisprey, throws valley Of
sand to hinder the retreat of his prisoner,
and secretes the remains of his feast that
no warning to future victims may be in
sight, a subject for interest and wonder.
! How he would have exulted over the aC-
| quaintance of a smaller creature which
owns slaves, of an insect which drives
regularly, or of an ant which carries on
agricultural operations, together with
mining and irrigation on a grand scale?
Yet these have been fully proved to the
scientific world, and in Florida ocular de-
monstration may be easily given. The
pits of the ant-hon may be seen around
us at any time wherever the sand is light
and dry; any one who takes the trouble
| OF
its dinner, and then watch the disposal
of the relics; while the chrysalis may be
! seen in all the stages of development by
placing the full grown insect under a
glass for few days till the fly is devel-
! Oped. The ant which owns slaves may
also be seen in this immediate section,
and the masters may be watched stand
/ ing about while the smaller race works,
and at intervals are marched back and
/ forth in gangs. These are not, as with
! bees, two forms of the same race, but
| they differ in kind as well as in degree,
and we have watched battles Of several
| hours duration, while the slave-hunters
| seemed to us to be catching fresh gangs
of victims. At any rate, from a battle
| field strewed with dead bodies and dis
membered limbs, detected captives We're
driven a long distance by the conquerors
and taken to the abOdes of the fercer
and stronger race. But enough Of this.
or we shall have an English or Federal
arm upon us.
In Brevard county, on particular
shrubs may be seen large numbers of an
insect, which punctures the leaves, ex-
tracts a sweetish sap and drinks so much
that they swell up and are almost trans
parent. AS the sun gets warm, they
crawl under the leaf and lie in satisfied
quiet. But an active little ant appears,
races around as if counting the herd and
runs off. Presently a crowd of others
like him appear, the poor little things are
carefully tapped and the sweet juice alb
stracted. These ants watched their prey
and when the particular leaf on which
these creatures were Matched becomes
dry, their herdsmen assist them to quar-
ters on fresh pasture. So far as my OBJ
servations go, these ants depend on the
sap thus obtained for their food, and the
other insects suffers no more harm than
our COWS. But the farmer ant was most
Interesting to me. They dig a hole in
the ground large enough for convenient
ingress and egress, and just where mois-
ture is reached they form large vaulted
chamber. Their store-hOuses is deep or
not, according to the season or locality
but moisture is always reached. The
whole colony then goes to work and clips
small circular bits from the fallen leaves;
these are stored nicely and compactly in
the chamber and suffered to lie until a
fine fungus is formed between the layers
of leaves. On this the ants feed. As
soon as the crop is ready they turn over
the leaves and eat till the harvest is ex-
hausted or the leaves are too rotten to
produce it. During the wet months they
live above ground and feed on the same
fungus formed in every heap of dry
/ leaves, but for eight months they are
compelled to raise a crop in the manner
described. Do not such facts strengthen
the idea and hope that an unbroken chain
of brotherhood links together all creation?