Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1922-07-06
Daughter Of Maude Williams
Writes From Buearamanga, Col
ombia, Telling of Ants
CARGADEROS UNDERMINE
TO DEPTH OF SIX FEET
Letter Shows Remarkable Know
ledge of Life of an Interesting
and Troublesome Insect

MT ana MRS. w. IL. Newell, Bara-
boo have received a letter from her
granddaughter, Margaret Elizabeth
Williams. Bucaramanga, Colombia,
South America. in which she tells
about the ants in that country. The
letter runs as follows:
No. /
am going to tell you about the
ants that | an acquainted with. The
body of an ant is made up of three
parts. IL has feelers, a round head.
and two great big eyes on top OF it.
1t has six legs with feet. There are
four wings on each ant, at some time
in its life. Two of these are larger
than the other two except OH the
white ants. Their four wings seem to
be all the same size.
When 1t rains all the different kinds
OF ants come out of their holes or
nests and commence to fly. They like
to fly near the lights and every night
during rainy season we have to be
careful when we're eating dinner that
they do not fly into our food. Some
times we have to move the table from
under the light and eat off in a cor
ner, where it Is half dark. One night
father put a dish-pan of water under
light and lowered the bulb, so that
Ii was just above the water. Great big
toads, medium toads, and little toads
came out and sat around the pan. and
stuck out their tongues to lap up the
ants that fell around the pan. One
toad jumped into the pan and made
a feast. In the morning we found
the pan nearly half full of dead ants.
besides what the toads had eaten.
Nearly every night three or four big
toads sit on the porch under the light.
and stuff themselves on ants. The is-
uanas, also, like ants. At one time
we had three pet iguanas in the patio.
and they lived on the ants and other
insects that bother mothers flowers.
The !guanas grew 20 be very tame.
Ants Undermine Town
Now ! am going TO tell you about
the different kinds OF ants / know.
The one that interests me most IS
the one that we have to fight so much.
because he eats the garden plants.
These ants are called "caraderos,T
or carriers. They are called that be-
cause the carry away all the leaves
OF a plant, or Il tree, IN one night,
These cargaderos make bovedas,
which are like underground subways,
connecting ten or a dozen nests. This
Is where they live. The Llano OF Don
Andres, which is the part of the city
where we live, is all undermined by
these bovedas. They are great big
tunnels, too, so that when a mules
foot opens on of them in the street.
the mule is in danger OF breaking his
leg. There are so many Of these big
holes opened in the streets, where
mules have broken through, that it
Is dangerous to go out night. When
the men built this house. they had
TO commence thu mud walls from
three to six feet below the ground,
so they could tamp up these big holes
and tunnels. or the wall would all
have fallen down the first time Il
rained hard. The opening of these
big tunnels is never more than lit
tie hole, just big enough for one ant
TO squeeze into, and even that the
ants fill up with a chunk of dirt when
they want il shut.
Work OF Night
Sometimes these ants all stay in
their holes for weeks, or months. and
nobody sees them. Then some night
when we are all asleep, they come out
and commence TO chew the plants,
leaves blossoms, buds. and carry aw-
ay everything in their mouths to the
boveda. Sometimes they are so ca
ger TO get all they can that they do
not stop when the sun rises and we
catch them at il in the morning But
usually. their work is all done before
daylight and the plants are killed. Il
Is always easy TO track them for they
string leaves and blossoms all along
their path, which we follow until wa
reach they tiny hole. II We happen to-
see them still at work. we can study
the way they DO Il. Each ant big or
little. carries a great leaf, often sew
eral times as large as he is, In his
mouth, with tie leaf sticking straight =
up in the air, like a flag. When he
has chewed off the section OF the
leaf that he Is going to carry he
seizes IL in his mouth and with quick