The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-02-28
Texas Ants.

Last summer. in July l believe it was
while lying in the shade of a large pecan
tree | noticed a small family of aphides
OIL tae leaf of cotton stalk and was not
little surprised moment later on see
ing large red ant with black head and
long legs emerge from under side OF the
leaf. l soon recognized him as one of
the well-known pastoral ants (hypocll-
ness), industrially the lowest of the ant
family, and which lead lonely life, like
the old Syriac shepherds, tending their
pigmy COWS. On the same leaf noticed
fellow herder who was tending still
smaller flock. Both went about IRON
time to time and gently stroklng with
their antennae the TWO tube-llke protub-
erances on the abdomen induced slight
flow of that sweet liquor, the honey dew
of the aphir. These crystal beads OF
honey they dexterously licked off before
they fell on the leaf. and quickly hurried
awaysto repeat the same. milking opera
tionon another aphide. ThesssagaciJy of
the shepherd ant is only rivalled by
that of the farmer ant, also a native of
far western Texas. These remarkable
insects, according to some writers, plant
each year a crop of ant rice, a cereal
seemingly originated by some fermlc
agriculturalist in by-gone ages, and
when the crop is ripe they gather it into
su bterranean granaries, always reservlng
a store for planting. Somewhat resemb-
ling in occupation the farmer ant, Texas
can boast tuany colonies of the UNI rella
or leaf-cutting ant, so common and de-
structive in Mexico and CentralAmerlca
In the latter countries they are quite
destructive, often destroying large trees,
and their depredationS have to be guard
ed against by means of woollen fillets
wound about the trunks of the trees.
Many notions, wholly without founda-
tion 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 into 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 grounds and nest, the ants
construct or clear broad, smooth roads,
often as much as 200 yards in length and
from six to eight inches broad. These
roads display considerably engineering
skill, Astounding in curves, graces and
even tunnels. The leaf cutters seem to
be the most Industrious of all the ant
family; big, little, old and young seem
ing to be animated with an almost in
sane desire to do their 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 dexterousiy held
in his manibles. The nest of the UNI
brella ant is a very poor affair, and
bears about the same relation to the
neat tunnels of the farmer ant that the
howell of the squatter does to the sub
stantial home of the prosperous farmer.
Any rude hole or hollow log serves
the leaf gatherer as storeroom, 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 News.