The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1894-10-17
BUSY TEXAS ANTS.
The Little Creatures Are as Systematic In
Their Labors as Farmers.

Last summer, in July, believe it
was, while lying in the shade of large
pecan tree, / noticed small family of
aphides on the leaf of cotton stalk,
and was not little surprised moment
later on seeing large red ant with
black head and long legs emerge from
the under side of the leaf. 1 soon rec
ognized him as one of the well-known
pastoral ants (hypoclines), industrially
the lowest of the ant family, and who
lead lonely life. like the old Syriac
shepherds tending their pigmy cows.
On the same leaf 1 noticed a fellow
herder, who was tending still smaller
| flock. Both went about from time to
time and gently stroking with their
antennae the two tube-like protuber-
ances on the abdomen induced slight
flow of that sweet liquor, the honey
dew of the apir. These crystal beads
of honey they dexterously licked off
| before they fell on the leaf and quickly
| hurried away to repeat the same opera
ton on another aphide.
The sagacity of the shepherd ant is
only rivaled by that of the farmer ant,
also native of far western Texas.
These remarkable insects, according to
some writers, plant each year a crop of
ant rice, cereal seemingly originated
by some formic agriculturist in bygone
ages, and when the crop is ripe they
| gather it into subterraneous granaries,
always reserving a store for planting.
Somewhat milling in occupation
the farmer ant, Texas can boast many
colonies of the umbrella or leaf-cutting g
ant. so common and destructive in Mex
leo and Central America. In the latter
countries they are quite destructive,
often destroying large trees, and their
depredations have to be guarded against
| by means of woolen fillets wound about
the trunks of the trees. Many notions,
wholly without foundation, seem to be
current concerning these strange little
pests Their method of operation, so
far as have observed in Fort Bend
county, is to strip only the smaller trees
and shrubs. The leaves are not cut in
to disc-shaped pieces, as commonly
supposed, but in any form that suits the
artistic fancy of the ant. To facilitate
progress to and from the leaf-cutting e
grounds and nest, the ants construct,
or clear, broad, smooth roads, often as
much as 200 feet in length and from six
to eight inches broad. These roads
display considerable engineering skill,
abounding in curves, grades and even
tunnels. The leaf-cutters seem to be
the most industrious of all the ant FAM
lily; big, little, old and young seeming
to be animated with an almost insane
desire to do his share of the work.
Nothing could be more amusing than
to see little fellow, not more than the
fourth of an inch long, hurrying madly
along with huge leaf dexterously held
in his mandibles. The nest of the um-
brella ant is a very poor affair, and
bears about the same relation to the
neat tunnels of the farmer ant that the
hovel of the squatter does to the sub
stantial home of the prosperous farmer.
Any rude hole or hollow log serves the
leaf-gatherer as store room, where he
puts away his hotbed to hatch out the
eggs deposited by the female. The
leaf-cutter is thus the original inventor
of the incubator, although his rights
have never been recognized by letters
patent. Galveston NeaOS.