St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1889-06-29
ABOUT ANTS COWS.
Facts Concerning Plant Lice ana tne
sects I hat Feed ON Them.

Racts Concerning Plant Lice In" s"o
sccts that Feed ON Them.
Have YOU ever noticed some OF the
leaves on your rose-bush curied U.
rolled up in an odd manner, as u
shrinking from the sun.ight'
Noticing this. did you ever en6eavor
to satisfy your curiosity by investlgat-
ing the cause of this apparent DIM
dence. II you had taken the trouble
to unroll one of these leaves you wouid
have found number of minute insects
sheltered by its encircling folds 30
small indeed, are these insects that no
adequate idea of their shape can ne
ascertained except by resoriing to your
microscope. Under the glass these ilt-
tie individuals assume definite propor'
tions. and their bodies are found to be
tiask-shaped, with two little tubes pro-
iecting from the posteriOr portion OF
the abdomen.
Now, these two little tubes are OF
great Importance. and insure Careful
treatment 10 many an aphis (as th-se
little plant lice are called), for from
these tubes exudes sweet fluid So
creted by the stomach. which is highly
priced by ants. and to secure which
the ants tenderly watch over and care
for the little aphides. They carry them
out in the morning and place them Oh
the leaves of some juicy plant. and then
in the evening they bring them back
to their own nests In return for this
kindness tho aphides. when caressed
by the antenne. or .feelers," OF the
ant, emits this sweet fluid. which is
greedily devoured hy that Industrious
insect This fact has caused the plant
lice to be frequently spoken OF IS
'ant's cows" They gain their live
lihood from the juices of plants,
which they suck up. and it is this
depriving the leaf of part OF its sap
that causes it to curl up. thus protect
ing its enemy and returning good iur
evil. But the aphis is not without its
enemies, for the little '.lady bugs" ask
for no daintier morsel than n nice.
juicy plant louse. Besides these, the
larva of species Of lace-winged hy
has such fondness for n diet of plant
lice that it has received the appellation
of the aphis lion.
In Europe gardeners frequently take
the pains of hunting up a number OK
these aphis lions. which they place on
their infested bushes. and rs a result
the plants are soon freed from plant
lice. Now, the plant-louse differs
from nearly all other insects in one
respect. 1t does not lay an egg
from which are hatched little grubs
that finally develop into mature in
sects. but instead the females in the
fall lay eggs With remain over winter
and early in tie spring hatch out.
when it is found that. without eycep-
ton, all are females. Now comes the
curious part, for these individuals
bring forth living young. which. too.
are only females, and are wingless.
Generation number two follows the ex-
ample of its predecessor and so on un-
til the approach of autumn. when
brood of perfect males and females is
brought forth. The females OF this
brood lay eggs which remain over win
ter and undergo the same process as
before.
NJ. Fougard Says that the ordinary
aphis produces ten generations during
| q year, and that each insect also brings
forth about ten young ones. as seen i'll
the following table,.
1st generation, 1 aphis; I'd genera
ton. 100 aphiGes; Sd. 10000; 4th. l.
OOO. 600: 5th. 100000, 900; 9th. 10, 0o0,-
OOO. 900: 9Th, 1000, 600, 600. 900; sth,
100, 900, 900. 900. 900; 9th. 10000. .ooo.-
900. OOo. 900; 10th, 100000, oOo.o00.-
100000.
So that from this one aphis in tho
spring would come one quintillion in
the fall, were it no: for its many enc
mics. A striking example OF this
enormous increase is the following
from Prof. Huxley: Il viii assume
that an aphis weighs one One-thou-
sandth of a grain. which is under tho
mark; quintillion will. on this esti-
mate. weigh n quadrillion of grains.
He is very stout man who weighs
two million grains, consequently, tho
tenth brood alone. If all its members
survive the perils to which they arc
exposed. contains more substance than
five hundred million stout men; to say
the least, more tnan the whole popula-
ton Of China."-Noble NJ. Eberhart,
Pin. D.. in Chicago Journal.