Article beginning on page 310.
Psyche 3:310-311, 1880.

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UNUSUAL CAKE OF ANTS FOE APHIDES.
BY WILLIAM TKELEASE, CAMBRIDGE, MASS.
WHILE collecting leaf-fungi on An- quite irregular and rough. A small dromeda ligustrina, in a sphagnum swamp round opening existed at each end. at Wood's Holl, Mass., in the early part That at the top was 3 mm. in diameter ;
of September 1881, my attention was
the lower one was very minute. having
attracted by a small, rough maas, appar- a diameter of lesa than 1 mm.
As I
ently of dried sphagnum, surrounding
have said, the nest at first sight appeared one of the twigs, at a distance of about to consist of dry hog-moss ; a micro-
a metre and a half above the ground.
scopic examination, however, showed
Curious to know how it had reached that
the material to be chiefly small fragments unusual place, and what it really was,
of wood -evidently obtained from an
I went to it, and on closer examination
old log lying at the foot of the shrub
found it to be a shelter erected by a col- with ernall quantities of the leaf-frag- ony of about a dozen worker ante over
menta of mosses and phaenogama. the
a numerous herd of small wingless brown
whole apparently glued together by the
aphides, which feed on the sap of this
saliva of the ants.
plant.
At first, neither ante nor aphides were
The twig on which the nest was visible, but on jawing the plant slightly, placed bad a diameter of about 3 mm.,
I saw the head of an ant protruded from
branched once at the top, -and again the larger entrance, the antennae of at about 8 mm. from the bottom of another appearing simultaneously at the the nest; between these branchlets a stnailer. With the point of a penknife single leaf was given off.
The nest I now enlarged the latter opening, upon was 3 crn. long, 1.3 em. broad at the which several ants rushed out furiously, largest part, near the middle, tapering and two or three swarmed upon my fin- somewhat toward each end, where it ger which was in contact with the twig, was quite abruptly rounded off, run-
trying to bite and sting it. The ant at
mug down the stem in a thin, solid layer the upper opening also came out, fol-
for a very short distance.
The wall, lowed by one or two others, but these which had an average thickness of about apparently failed to locate the distur- 0.5 mm., also ran out in the same way, bance, and soon reentered the nest, w where the branchlets passed through. did those from below which had not These decurrent portions formed the only touched my finger. Those upon my fiu-
support of the structure, which thus ger were not allowed to return to the enclosed a capacious chamber surround- nest, and the excitement was of short ing the twig.
On the inner surface, 80 duration. Through the enlarged opening, far as seen, the wall was carefully which was from time to time curiously smoothed off ; the outer surface was examined by some of the ants, I could



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see the aphides, crowded quite closely,
branch, but they still obtained enough
receiving the caresses of their protec- food to produce a considerable quantity tors, and, as usual, rewarding them with of honey-dew, and were followed by an abundance of honey-dew. some of the ants, whose attentions were Thinking to watch them a little more, constant. Once in a while I wodd find I removed the branch bearing the colony one of the ants or aphides drowned in to my room, and placed it in a vase of the water below, but it always appeared water which was kept standing in a shal- that it had fallen from the branch, and low dish filled with water.
While I was
had not been drowned in attempting to
carrying them home, the ante at first leave the colony- Finally the remainder seemed considerably disturbed by the
were put in alcohol. The auts proved
motion, and quite frequently came out
to be workers of Cremntoycwter Imeolata
singly or in groups of two or three, ran Say; not having winged individuals, I about, exploring the leaves and smaller
did not attempt to identify the aphides. twigs, and then commonly returned to the Both, with the nest, have been placed in nest and reentered it as if satisfied. Oc- the biological collection of the Museum
emionally one reached my hand and then of Comparative Zoology at Cambridge, showed the same fury manifested ou the
Mass.
first disturbance, but care was taken to The architecture of ants, in a number prevent the return of these, and the of forms, is matter of every-day obser- others soon ceased to notice the unasual vation, their nests and covered ways motion. After they were safely placed often being seen. That they frequently in my room, the cessation of the motion take their wards, the aphides and coccids, produced ranch the same excitement as into their nests is sufficiently well known, its commencement ; but, like the first, whether these nests are in hollow plants this did not last long. For a short time (Cecropia), 'beneath stones, or in the the mia seemed restless iu their new ground ; but this is the first case that has quarters, and scouts occasionally ex- come under my observation in which a plored the twigs and leaves, sometimes species has erected a shelter over aphides going on the vase and as far as to the in a place not commonly chosen for its water in which it stood ; but so far ae nesting. In structnre and composition, could be seen, these were all content to the nest I have described is not unlike return, Rarely one would go to the
those formed by the same species upon
water as if to drink, and thela return to fallen logs and iu similar situations. the nest; and I am positive that eome Here, however, from their entire be- individuals never left the nest. In this havior, I am led to believe that they had way I kept them for about two weeks,
taken up their residence at a considerable in which time the leaves had partially
distance from the ground, and, obtaining dried, and, their food being less abun-
food and drink from their herd, remained dad, some of the aphides left the she[-
constantly upon the plant, seldom leaving ter and moved to better parts of the
the immediate vicinity of the nest.




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