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The Utilisation of Ants in Horticulture

1882; Nature Portfolio; Volume: 26; Issue: 658 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1038/026126b0

1476-4687

C. V. Riley,

Animal and Plant Science Education

DR. C. J. MACGOWAN has sent me from Han Chow, Province of Hainan, China, a little paper on the “Utilisation of Ants as Insect Destroyers in China.” It seems that in many parts of the province of Canton the orange trees are injured by certain worms, and to rid themselves from these pests, the inhabitants import ants from the neighbouring hills. The hill-people throughout the summer and winter find the nests of two species of ants, red and yellow, suspended from the branches of various trees. The “orange ant breeders” are provided with pig or goat bladders baited inside with lard. The orifices of these they apply to the entrance of the bag-like nests, when the ants enter the bladders, and, as Dr. Macgowan expresses it, “become a marketable commodity at the orangeries.” The trees are colonised by placing the ants on their upper branches, and bamboo rods are stretched between the different trees, so as to give the ants easy access to the whole orchard. This remedy has been in constant use at least since 1640, and probably dates from a much earlier period. This is certainly a new way of utilising ants, which as a rule are deservedly considered a nuisance by the horticulturist. I should like to learn from any entomological reader of NATURE whether the facts communicated have before been known in Europe, and, if so, whether the species of ant has been determined.