The Tucson citizen., 1902-07-04


Are Above Toll - Distinctions of
Class In ThoIr burial Places.
There IL a lot that Is human about
these little ants" writes Harvey Suth
erland in Ainslee's. They Ike TO play
and cut up. They make ES,liere to Tight
aud when they wrestle in FUN they toll
all around like schoolboys. They WASH
and brush each other and stretch out
under the process as much as 10 say
My. that feels good" When they sleep
they often lie on their sides aud some
times squat down on their abdomen
aud the last pair of legs for al the
world like u man taking a nan. When
they wake w, they gnpe and stretch
themselves and all but say. 'Ao. num-
They always wash themselves anu
comb their hair as soon rs they get up,
They are Ike us IN HAeQ'ng pets
aboutthe house. Andre ooUo'ed1H4 Spe-
cies Of insects. nearly al 0t them bee
ties, that a.e Labj,ualy 70 be found IN
ants nests They must % there with
their consent. for AZ .atarl0per IS In
stanUy killed Some OF them are milk
cattle, Ike tie apl'Ies, suit As cater.
pillars that gle sirup ana the little
blind beetle clayiger. which secretes
honey frou tuft a the base OF lis
wlags. II one OF these c,lvl gers is put
into the nest OF strange ans they fall
upon 1t AMI slaughter 1t At once. Some
Kinds Of wood lice are kept aS scayen'
gers, and the s.!vevlsh or bristletail
and the laryl OF the e,IteT beetle are
handy to have around ID 10 the heavy
digging under The supervision OF the
workers. Many OF these d0mcstlcated
animals are unable TO feed themselves.
I.espes saw some ants eating sugar. y
lomechusa Of tneir nest came up and
uuzzled theu until they fed 1t. After
ward it climbed up on the lump or sug-
ar. but did not seem to know how 10
get the good OF 1t for Itself. But also
there are pets about which are as use
less as pug dog. II another such a
thing In TIE universe can be imagined,
The little Stenamma west woodii pranks
about In the hills Of Torm;c1 rufa and
J Formica pratensls 1t runs along with
them. jumps Oh their backs and takes
a ride. aAi Il tor aur reason the nest
Is removed il goes along
Then there is another ittie ant In
'thesn nests that is by no means pet.
1t digs its galleries in the partitions SO
! small that the big ants cannot get In
to kill them. Every once IL awhile
Salenopsis fugax darts out. SuatChes
up Il baby and runs with it into its
den. where it eats ii up. Ii is as II we
had caunibal dwarfs lurking In the
walls and now and then carrying or
one Of the children 10 be devoured at
horrid blnquets behind the n!astering.
But If We begin calling hard nam~s
we might as we'll keep Il up and admit
first as last that all ants are clnnibalS
and feed not only on other kinds OF
ants, but even upor their own species
when they are not OF the saQle house
hold. They capture and CARY off the
eggs. larvR and pupP OF other nests.
and what they do not have :0r dinner
today they fatten for tomorrow. 1t IL
supposed that i'll this way they got into
the habit OF keeping slaves. The young
captive ants came out OF their cOCoons
and. being naturally Industrious. they
! BUSTED about and gave the babies
their niDlmy nimmy when they cried
| for It, swept the floor and carried In
| the coal until the approving workers
of the captors began to taid to each
other like this: That fusca is handy
| little thing about the house. Seems II
/ kind Of pity to Kill her when we've got
so much fresh meat on hand and right
Ia the busy season. when help is hard
| to get She's so good to the children
too. Let's keep her awhile. What do
you sayY And then when it was de-
cided to put Off butcherlng lay they
went to the fusca and said: 'Fnsca.
we've concluded not to kill you for
spell yet You can stay around and
do up the work, but mind if there are
any complaints about you or the chill
dren are neglected or you give any "
gour back talk-well, there'U be fresh
meat for supper. Do you UNDERESTIMATE :
"And the fusca dropped a courtesy
and made answer 'Yaiss. missy, Tank
yo', missy Ahll do de bes' ah kin
It Is almost needless to say that +.
fusca Is a black ant
"F sanguineas can do their own
work and often do not keep slaves at
all, but they are little thought OF in ant
circles. The real nobility and gentry
are polyergus rufescens aaa Polyergus
lucidus. Work? They work? No. in
deed! You don't see them dnmeaninc
themselves building and nindng chii.
dren, collecting food or even feeding
, themselves. If you please. When the
nest Is changed. they do not set foot ta
the ground. They are carried hy
slaves They have always been accuS
toned TO having help about the hous"
But they can fight. Their nandiblr,
are fiji only to crush other ants heads
"Ants have cemeteries. and 1t Is char
ActcrIstic of them taat tho slaves are
MT t>.,rf,J wifi, thnir h,,+ T.