The Tucson citizen., 1902-02-08
ANlO RESEMBLE MEN
MUCH THAT Is HUMAN ABOUT THESE
LITTLE INSECTS.
Their Ways of Playing, Sleeping,
Eating and WOrkInE-SOme That
Are Above Toll -- i5iAtInctIOns OF
Class In Their Burial Places.

Glass In Their Burial Places.
There il Il lot that Is human about
these little ants" writes Harvey Suth
erland in AInslcc's They like to play
and cut mp. They make lSlieyc to fight,
and when tlcy wrestlc in fun they roll
all around like schooihoys, They wash
aud tgush each other and stretch out
under the process rs much as to say
My. chat feels good" When they sleep,
thcy often lie on their sides and some
times squat down on their abdomen
and thc last pair of legs for all the
world Ike nan taking a nap When
they wake up they cape and stretch
themselves and all but say, 1Io. hum
They always wash themselves and
Comb tAoir hair rs soon as they get up.
THEY grc Ike us in keeping pets
ahoutthc house. recouutcd1St spe-
cico oc Insects, nearly all Of them bee
tlcs, that are kabltuaIly to be found in
-&Dts' nests. They must be there with
thctr consent, for au intcrlopcr is in
stautly Killed. Some of them are milk
cattle, Ike the aphdcS. such rs cater
pillars that give sirUp and the little
Nlind beetle cIaviger which secrctes
honey from turf at the base Of it's
wings, ! + one of these cllyiecrs is put
into the nest of strange ants they fall
upon it aud slaughter it at once. Some
Kinds of wood llce are kept as scayen-
gers. and the si!ycrtish or bristletall
and the larva Of the clatcr beetle are
handy to Lave around to do the heavy
digging under tie supervision of the
workers Many Of these dOmcStiCatcd
animals are unable to feed themselves
LcSpeS saw some ants eating sugar \
lomcChuSa Of t'neir nest came up and
GuzzlCd them until they fed IT, After
ward 1t climbed up on the lump OF sug
ar. but did not seem To know how to
get the good Of Ii for itself. But also
there are pets about which are as use
less as a pug dog, IL another such IL
thing in the universe can be imagined.
The little StcHamma westwoodii pranks
about in the bills of Formica rufa and
Formica pratenSis 1t runs along with
them, jumps on their backs and takes
ride, and If tor any reason the nest
Is removed it goes along
Then there IS another little ant In
these nests that is by no means pet
1t digs its galleries in the partitions so
small that the big ants cunnot get III
TO Kill them Every once In awhile II
Salcnopsts fugaX darts out, suatches
UP baby and runs with it into It's
den, where II eats it up. 1t is as IL we
had Cannibal dWartS lurking in the
wallis and now and then carrying OF
ore OF the children to be devuurcd al
horrid banquets behind the llastering
But il we begin calling hard names
we might as well keep it up and admit
first rs last that all ants are cannibai4
and feed not only on other kinds OF
ants. but even upoE their own species
when they are not of the same house
hold. They capture and carry of the
eggs. larvir and pupT OF other nests,
and what they do not have for dinner
today they fatten for tomorrow 1t il
y
fhe habit of keeping slaves. The young
captive ants came out of their cocoons
and. being naturally Industrious. they
hustled about ana gave the babies
their nImmy nlmmy when they cried
fox it, swept the floor and carried In
The coal until the approving workers
ot the captors began to talk to each
ether like this: That fusca is n handy
lttlc thing about the house Seems
Kind OF pity to kill her when we've got
SO much fresh meat on hand and fight
i'll the busy season, when help iS hard
10 get. She's so good to the children
TOO. Let's keep her awhile. What do
you say" And then when it was de-
cided to put off butChcring day they
weut to the fusca and said: 'Fusca.
we've concluded not to kill you for a
gpetl 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 Of
your back talk-well, there'll be fresh
meat for supper. DO you un1erstaud|
And the fuSca dropped a courtesy
and nade answer: 'Yass, missy. Tank
y0, missy. Ah'll do de bes' ah kim
II is almost needless to say that f.
fusca is black ant
"'F. sanguneas can do their own
work and often do not keep slaves at
all. bat they nrc little thought of In ant
circles. The real nobility and gcntry
arc tolyergus rufeScCns and polycrguS
iucidus. Work? They work? No. in
decd! You don't see them dcmcaniug
themselves building and mindtn@ chil-
drcu. collecting food or even feeding
1hcmst Ives, if you please. When the
9icst is changed, they do not set foot to
fhe ground. They are carried by
&l0ycs. They have always been accus-
touIcd 10 having help about the house
KNt they can fight. Their mandiblcs
are M only TO crush other ants heads.
Ants hnvo cemeteries, and It is char.
ttrsTFLstic of them that the slaves are
ptis buried with their masters, but In
2nothcr place, over hy the back fence
among the ragWeeds and burdOcks."