Natural history -- Nicaragua; Nicaragua -- Description and travel
Both in Brazil and Nicaragua I paid much attention to the relation
between the presence of honey-secreting glands on plants, and the
protection the latter secured by the attendance of ants attracted
by the honey. I found many plants so protected; the glands being
specially developed on the young leaves, and on the sepals of the
flowers. Besides the bull's-horn acacias, I, however, only met with
two other genera of plants that furnished the ants with houses,
namely the Cecropiae and some of the Melastomae. I have no doubt
that there are many others. The stem of the Cecropia, or trumpet
tree, is hollow, and divided into cells by partitions that extend
across the interior of the hollow trunk. The ants gain access by
making a hole from the outside, and then burrow through the
partitions, thus getting the run of the whole stem. They do not
obtain their food directly from the tree, but keep brown
scale-insects (Coccidae) in the cells, which suck the juices from
the tree, and secrete a honey-like fluid that exudes from a pore on
the back, and is lapped up by the ants. In one cell eggs will be
found, in another grubs, and in a third pupae, all lying loosely.
In another cell, by itself, a queen ant will be found, surrounded
by walls made of a brown waxy-looking substance, along with about a
dozen Coccidae to supply her with food. I suppose the eggs are
removed as soon as laid, for I never found any along with the
queen-ant. If the tree be shaken, the ants rush out in myriads, and
search about for the molester. This case is not like the last one,
where the tree has provided food and shelter for the ants, but
rather one where the ant has taken possession of the tree, and
brought with it the Coccidae; but I believe that its presence must
be beneficial. I have cut into some dozens of the Cecropia trees,
and never could find one that was not tenanted by ants. I noticed
three different species, all, as far as I know, confined to the
Cecropiae, and all farming scale-insects. As in the bull's-horn
thorn, there is never more than one species of ant on the same
tree.
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