South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1920-05-02
Ants In Africa
AreHandicab To
Flying Machines

Ants have assumed a new role q.
Africa-that OF enemies OF aviation
Reports from surveyors OF the pro
posed air route from Rhodesia 20
Capetown say that ant hills have
interfercG seriously with the placing
~ aerodromes.
To understand this phenomena
one must understand how ubiquitous
is the ant in South Africa, says
bulletin Of the National Geographic
society which quotes from a con
munication 20 the society by William
Morton Wheeler as follows:
Ants are 70 be found everywhere.
from the arctic regions 20 the trop-
les, from mberline on the loftiesf
mountains 90 the shifting sands az
the dunes and seashores and from
the dampcst forests 20 the dries
deserts. Not only do they outnun
Der in individuals all other ter
restrial animals. but their colonies
even in very circumscrfbcd localities
often defy enumeration.
Are CarnlvOrous Insects.
"One subfamily OF the ants The
Dorylinae, embracing the wonderfU
driver ants OF Africa and the le-
gionary ants Of the American troplcs
are highly carnivorOus. but neyerthe-
colonies. often OF hundreds OF thou
sands Of individuals This they ac-
cOmplish by relinquishing the seder-
tary habits so characteristic OF the
great majority OF ants. They keep
moving in long files through the
jungles. capturing or killing all The
insects they encounter and even
overrunning dwellings and. in their
search for cockroaches and other
vermin, driving out the human in
habitants. From time 20 time these
strange ants bivouac for the night
or for a few days IN some hole IA
the ground. or under a tree. but soon
continue thtir predatory march. Evi-
IDENTIFY they are able 20 remain
CarnivOrOus, and at the same time
20 develop large colonies. only be
cause they are nomadic and can thus
draw their food supply from a large
area.
"One Of the earliest departures
from an exclusively animal diet is
seen among the ants which attend
plant-lice. scale insects. and leaf
hoppers and feed on their saccharine
eXcrement. This eXcrement IS. OF
course, merely plant sap slightly al
tered in it's chemical constitution b.
passing through the digestive tract
OF the insects, and containing much
water. some sugar. and a little nj
trogenous matter.
Live on Plant Lice.
Many ants are so inordinatelv
fond of this food that they not only
acquire an intimate acQuaintance
with the habits OF the adult plant
lice and scale insects. but actually
collect and store their eggs I'm the
nests during winter in order that
they may during the ensuing spring
distribute the Matching young over
the roots or foliage OF the plants.
Certain individuals. the 'repletes'
OF the colony refrain from leaving
the nest and foraging for food and
become converted into hagOns bv
distending the crop 10 such enOr-
nous dimensions that the abdomen
looks like n transparent bead In
this condition they hang by their
claws from the roof or the nest
chamber and thenceforth spend all
their lives receiving liquid food
from the tongues OF the foraging
ants storing IL IN their crops. and
regurgitating il 10 hungry individ
uals when the LIQUID food supply
outside the rest becomes inadeQuato-
This IS. OF course. apt 20 be the case
periodically in dry regions, SO that
we And the true honey ants only ia
desserts like those OF the south
western states. northern Mexico.
South Africa. and central Australia"