The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1919-07-24

ment Of Agriculture.)
New wonders of nature continually
are opening to the home gardener who
watches carefully the evolution OF the
creatures in his food plot. Even the
insects that attack his plants have
power to amaze. And no insects are
more interesting than the tiny plant
lice or aphids. which grow In large
number of forms and suck the juices
from various kinds OF plants.
The most remarkable thing about
some of the aphids is their partnership
with other insects. Many forms of the
aphlds are fostered and protected from
the beginning to the end OF their little
lives by the industrious ants. The part
nership seems TO have reached most
pefect form In the case of the corn
root aphIds and the corn6eld ant. and
II Is usually found that where there
are aphids there are ants.
Operation Of Ant-Aphis Alliance.
The partnership OF ant and aphis-
the cornfleld ant and the corn-root
aphis-operntes In nearly every Sec
tlon where corn Is grown east of the
Rocky mountains, especially In some
Of the corn belt states. The work.
ings OF the partnership have been COM
pared to subterranean dairy. with
the aphis as the ants "cow," the ant
directing the enterprise, the nphis do
Ing the work. and the ant getting the
profits. The ant Is not directly harm
full to the corn. but the aphis Is. With
out the ant, however. the firm would
have TO go out of business, and that is
why the United States department Of
agriculture tells farmers who want
to get rid of corn-root aphls to get rid
of the ant. The same advice applies
in the case of certain other forms Of
root aphlds.
This is how the subterranean dairy
works:
In the fall the ants carry the eggs
of the aphids to their nests and care
for them as they do for their own
young. In the spring, when the eggs
hatch, the ants tunnel along weed
roots and place the helpless aphids on
the roots. Soon the aphids begin to
give or "honeydew," made from the
juices Of the plants on which the
aphids are resting. The ant dearly
loves "honeydew." and they tenderly
watch over and care for theiR "cows."
The aphids are wholly dependent
throughout their life on the ants.
Escaped Aphids Seized by Ants.
The first two or three generations Of
aphids live entirely on the roots of
weeds, but as soon as the newly-plant-
ed corn sprouts the ants transfer the
aphlds to the more succulent corn
roots. After two or three successive
generations, many Of the aphids may
be winged, ana some escape from the
ground through the ant tunnels and
fly away to new field. II they chance
to ai,ght near an ant hill they are
seized Immediately by the watchful
ants. carried into their burrows, placed
an roots. and honeydew production
starts again.
When cold weather is approaching
>ud the ant carries the aphlds' eggs
ana the young ants deeper into the
soil, the ant goes at least eight inches |
under the soil and eight inches IL !
deeper than the ordinary plow fur
row.
The particular aphIs that attacks |
corn is called Che ccrr-root aphis be-
cause of it's preference for that plant
In gardens II Is very common on as
ters and related plants. There are 1
many other varieties OF aphls, how
ever, and for many of them ants have
a tender feeling. For instance. there
are the aphlds that attack orange
trees In California. The ants surround |
these aphids, attack other insects that |
attempt to reach them, and Induce the |
aphids to excrete honeydew by strok- |
ing their bodies with their antennae,
or feelers. Unfortunately for the or
ange aphids, however, they are at
tackled by winged parasites whGh |
"stlng" and lay eggs In them, and these
parasites are so small and active that
the ants cannot successfully defend
their charges.
How to Control Pests.
The corn-root aphids In fields Is con-
trolled by rotating with crops upon
which the aphi6s cannot live, by plow-
lug and disking, thus breaking ny the
ant and aphis colonies, and by the use
of certain pungent substances, mixed
with chemical fertilizer and dlstrib-
uted by means Of FERTILIZER attach
ment to the corn planter. These sub
stances tend to drive away the ants
and prevent them from placing aphids
on the corn roots.
Aphlds In Gardens.
The home gardeners whose plants
are attacked by aphids. such as the