El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-02-27

strong curved thorns of great size, ar
, ranged in pairs and of such shape as
] to suggest a likeness to the horns Of
a bull These thorns are filled with a
sweetish pulp. The ants, after eating
I out the pulp, convert the interior into
a house-a small hole near the end Of
( one horn" serving as a door. When,
I as is ordinarily the case, every pair Of
thorns has it's colony of insects, the
acacia is defended by quite a formid-
able standing army. Each of its leaves
bears a number of tiny yellow fruit
like bodies, looking like minute golden
pears. which the ants gather for food
being thus furnished with regular sup
plies of provender, as well as house
ROOM in payment for their services as
protectors.
The tropics. of course afford oppor-
tunities for the propagation of insects
of all sorts in such multitudes as are
unknown in colder ATTITUDES Thus 1t
is that the butterfly hunter seeks has
prey usually in regions of the torrld
zone, where he hangs up a decayed
fish, if he can get such a thing, to
serve as bait for the gaudy winged in
sects which (as is characteristic OF
some rare and desirable varieties)
flutter about lofty tree tops, seldom
coming near the ground.
butterflies Have Bad Taste.
According to the testimony of hunt
ers of such game. there is nothing
butterfly is so found Of as a bad smell
The Central American natives, hlreq
for the purpose by naturalists, are
skilled in shooting the high flying but
terflles with pith balls or tiny arrows
discharged from blowgUns. But it is
easier to smear a quantity of banana
pulp on a tree trunk and leave 1t for
few days to decay, when its Odor may
be expected to attract the dainty IN
sects within reach.
High M in the mountains of Chile is
species of butterfly called Satyrus
'argenteus, whose wings look as II they
were cut from thin sheets of bright
silver Another and nearly related
species. curiously enough, has wings of
pure gold 1t is not surprising that
natives Of that part of the world should
entertain a belief to the erect that
anybody who succeeds in following one
of these butterflies, without ever los
ing track Of it, will surely be conducted
to a deposit of precious LetaL
Insects of a number of species, IN
various parts of the world have been
''smelted" time and again for the gold
or silver they were supposed to contain.
Such, for instance, has been the case
with the socalled ''silversmith,'
European insect somewhat resembling
a big Junebug in appearance but with
a color between silver and gold. The
same thing has been attempted with
the golden rosechafer, a yellow beetle
with a metallic luster, as large as the
end of ones thumb.
Believe Beetle Is Pure Gold.
There is a Central American beetle,
of the genus Plusiotis, which is firmly
believed by the natives to contain gold
It's head and wingcases are brilliantly
polished. with a luster as of gold itself
one might easily imagine it to be the
work of a clever artificer in metal A
nearly related species looks as If
wrought in solid silver, brightly bur
nished. Both have been often smelted.
When failure results, no metal being
obtained. it is assumed that something
was wrong with the process
But. speaking of beetles, there is in
Venezuela a species that is decidedly
the biggest Of known insects. 1t is