El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-07-10
THIS COUNTRY is
THREATENED BY BUGS
Beware of the Argentine Ant He Is

Beware Of the Argentine Ant; He Is
Coming to Our SUaCe and Nation
Washington, d. e., july 1U--An IN
vasion OF the United States from South
America is predicted by WiimOn Newell,
~ s., and L. Z. Barber, b. ). A.
From the mysterious precincts Of the
bureau OF entomology, OF the department
OF agriculture, these learned bUgolOgists
have lust issued a warning to this ef-
feet:
Beware of the IidomyTmex humulis
Mayr, my SOM
Counties millions OF them are headed
northward from the gulf coast.
1t is the Argentine ant!
And 1t is a small ant, too; small
enough to be a greater nuisance than 1t
would be were 1t larger. 1t can hide
under the nut cap on chocolate bon
bon, and you cannot discover it until
YOU are reaching out Tor another bon
Don Just before the last swallow in the
masculation OF the previous One-bOn-
bon.
Then-ahl Then-you discover little
IridOmyrmeX humulis Mayr. 1t is too
late to save It's life, but you do not
think of that. lis your own lite you
become fTenZical over.
Is Highly Destructive.
g
"the Argentine ant is not eXcelled in de-
structvenes by even the gypsy moth, the
boil Weevil or the San Jose scale.
Though this ant is limited as yet to
comparatively small areas, the Obser-
walton and experience Of the authors
fully convince them that future years
Will see this insect steadily invading new
territory and forcing its depredations
upon the inhabitants Of all southern
California and most of the gulf states"
In its pernicious practices the Argen-
tine ant, sometimes called crazy ant,
has a pal known to entomologists as
PseudOcOccus calceOlariae, the sugar
cane meaIY-bug. They are great at
team work. Each possesses a sweet
tooth, but IridOmyrmex is more of an
epicure than is his partner. 1t is very
fond OF honey, syrups, sugar, candy,
cakes, cookies, jams, marmalades, pre-
serves, fruit juices, beef. olive oil, lard
and human beings. The mealy-bug
sticks pretty closely to a diet of sugar
cane. Drs. Newell and Barber say:
Authentic cases are on record where
it has been necessary to take babes from
their cradles and repeatedly immerse
them in water to rid them of the ants
which crawled by hundreds over their
bodies We have even received reports
of infants being killed by ants, but such
reports we have not verified. Such a
thing is not, however, outside the realm
of possibility"
How to Get Rid Of Ants.
The only repellent found to possess
any merit. aside from sweetened arseni-
cal solutions, was dry corrosive subli-
mate.
The Argentine ant was first made IA
nous by DR.. Gustave Mayr, who wrote
an ode of some kind to it after watch
ing several billion of them playfully at
work near BuenOs Ayres.
About the only sure means Of checking
the South American invasion Is to ban
ish from this country all sweet things.
It has been suggested that If New Or
leans mOlasses we're poured in a straight
line acros the isthmus of Panama in
large quantities, reinforcements for the
army already on the gulf coast would
not arrive for several years, and IN the
meantime a more effective plan for
driving back the invaders might be put
into execution.