The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-09-14

singing is performed by special q,
gans on the wings like the bow :
: the fiddle. We wanted closa-un
Of that singing apparatus in actor
: but we had TO take them under nov
erful mercury lights, and insects d
: not usually sing under such condi
tons. We finally got around fbi
difficulty by placing decoys-othe
insects-in dark boxes near thoe
under the lights. The latter. bAa-
ing loud songs issuing from N,
dark security of the boxes. wer,
fooled into replying, and the cam,
era man secured some exceus1
pictures.
Some of the most interesting IN.
sect pictures we have obtained an,
of ants" continued Director Dit.
mars. We have a splendid close.
up of an ant dragging weigh,
much greater than that Of Itself
Then we show a closeup Of a psir
of scales weighing the material ms
result revealed that the ants load
was about in the same proportion
as a 800 pound load carried by a
1Ss pound man.
Filming An Amt War.
: I'VE also have pictures of a great
! ant war. We secared two distant
ant colonies in solid blocks of earn
being careful to capture the queens
and transferred them to the stQdjo
table. We set the table legs n wa.
ter. so they could not escape, and
then ran a sash cord from one table
leg to the other. This formed a
bridge. That was all that was
needed. In a short time, the frs,
ant scouts were across that bridge,
shifting each others colonies and
on the warpath.
These tiny warriors, you know.
have an uncanny way of recognig-
ing their friends and of immediate
ly identifying ants from strange
colonies. A stranger thrown into
a nest of ants will be almost in
stantly killed.
wild activity started up in each
Of the camps. While some guarded
the entrance to the underground
galleries of the nests where their
queens lived, others started IN
droves across the bridge. The roy
al guard remained around the
queen with their mandibEas or laws
wide open, ready to defend her 10
the last
THE battle lasted several hours
until the field was covered with
wounded and one side finally ti- 4
umphed. Proudly, they carried the
dismembered bodies of the van
quished back to their galleries to
be stored for winter food. The eggs
of the enemy queen were also cap
tured and removed to the victorious
camp. These eggs, we believe, are
10 hatch out and the young
are kept as slaves. At any rate
the eggs, are not used as food, but
are taken as part of the booty
while the enemy queen is always
killed. We got a charming si-
houette of the last procession Of
-ictors (greatly enlarged, of coursel
carrying their loot across the cord
bridge into camp"
Which of the zoo animals is the
most dangerous to photograph? We
asked
The tiger is the most treacher-
,us," replied Dr. Ditmars. but mona
# them is actually to be trusted
Ne sometimes wear protective ap
,aratus. The Black Mambra (See
Dr.. Ditmars' book on reptiles} viii
pit poison in all directions when
which would be most
dangerous if we didn't wear cog
lies to protect our eyes.
Il believe moving pictures are Of
he greatest possible value in teach
ng the public natural history" the 9
90 director concluded 4 have
'een producing them for years and
ave worked out my own photo
.raphic equipment Among other
hings I have found a light English
nake Of camera most effective The
verage American moving picture
amera is extremely heavy and
ard to move, weighing at Least 125
ounds. The one | use weighs l3
ounds and the tripod IS
Il have made over 120, 600 feet
motion picture negative which !
N arranging in much the same
ashton as if l were writing a very
Elaborate book on natural history.
represents Il years work, and
0 per cent of the animals con
aimed in it will never be taken
gain. SO fast are certain species
ying out"
At this point, DR.. Ditmars vas
iterrupted by his pretty, yod1g
who rushed into the Of
ce much excited.
Come, Dad, quick" she cried.
The albino tortoise has his head
lt-where's the camera"