Nature's Teachings: Human Invention Anticipated by Nature

by J. G. Wood

The Ants, being insects, would naturally require insect cows, and such are to be found in the Aphides, of which mention has already been made. These insects are furnished with a pair of very small tubercles near the end of the abdomen, and from them flows that sweet liquid which is so familiar to us under the name of “honey-dew.” For centuries no one knew the source of the sweet honey-dew which attracted all the bees of the neighbourhood to the tree on whose leaves it was sprinkled, sometimes in patches, and sometimes coating them with a thin shining coat, as if varnished.

At last it was discovered that the honey-dew is, in fact, the liquid exudations from these tubercles upon the backs of the aphides, and that the ants feed regularly upon it. Not only do they lick up the honey-dew that has fallen from the ants, but they milk them, so to speak, exactly as a dairymaid milks a cow. With their antennæ the ants pat and stroke the tubercles of the aphides, and in a few seconds a drop of pellucid liquid appears at the extremity. This is the honey-dew, and is at once lapped up by the ant, which proceeds from one aphis to another until it has obtained its fill of the sweet food.

How the ants carry off the aphides, cherish and guard them for the sake of their honey-dew, is a story too long to be told, but it is well known among entomologists. Our English ants are, however, totally eclipsed by a Mexican species, which not only collects honey, but stores it in the bodies of its kindred.

After taking precautions that no food can escape, the ants feed with their sweet store their companion, who is thus doomed to pass the remainder of life as a mere honey-cell. The abdomen becomes spherical, smooth, and so transparent that the honey can be seen within it. It is quite air-tight, and so preserves the fragrance of the honey until it is wanted.

So plentiful are these honey-ants, that they are an article of commerce, and are sold by measure for the purpose of making a sort of mead. There are many of them in the British Museum, with the honey still within their transparent bodies, and they are well worth seeing.

The accompanying illustration represents the artificial and natural way of preserving food in an uninjured state. The right-hand figure is that of an ordinary glass aquarium, such as was in general use until the properties of air and water were better understood, and it still need not be rejected. It is simply a vessel in which water is contained, so that aquatic or marine animals may be able to live in it for some time.

There are infinite varieties of the “Fish-tank,” if we may so call it, the chief of which is the “well,” which is so extensively used in bringing fish to market.

Through the bottom of the boat projects a sort of box pierced with holes, so that the water has free access and egress. The sides of the box are so high that there is no fear of the water rising into the boat. When fish are taken, they are thrown into the well, and there can live until they are wanted for sale.

Also, as all know who are acquainted with river-banks or seashores, fishermen have similar wells detached from the boats, and partly or entirely sunk in the water. In them they keep their stock, and, when a customer arrives, they simply draw the box ashore, so that the water runs out, select what fish they choose, and replace the box in the water.