Part 58

See, most of them are without wings, though here are a few with beautiful transparent wings.

Antennae they have, long and threadlike. And see, the knowing little eyes!

They seem to be anchored to the leaf.

Hold the leaf up to the light, and see if you can discover what they are doing.

Ah, see those mouth tubes firmly stuck into the leaf. There they stand all day long and suck out the juice.

Ned says he should think they would burst.

But they do not; they grow. And they also get rid of a large part of the superfluous sap in a curious way.

They use what they need to grow on, and the rest escapes from the insect's body in the form of "honey dew." It is a sweet liquid of which ants and bees are very fond.

What, John, you have heard that the aphids give out honey dew from two little horns near the tip of the abdomen?

Let us see if we can find these horns. Yes, we can see them plainly, and very plainly with a magnifying glass.

But now listen; the honey dew does not come from the horns. On the end of some of the horns, or tubes, we can see a drop of clear liquid.

For a long time people believed this was honey dew, but instead, it is a waxy substance which is not sweet.

It has been very carefully studied by wise men who tell us it contains no sugar and is probably used as a means of defence, as aphides have been seen to smear the faces of insect enemies with this wax.

There are a great many species of aphides, and not all of them have the little tubes or horns on their backs. But probably many that have no horns give forth honey dew.

It is really a waste substance from the body of the aphid.

Ants are so fond of the honey dew that certain species of aphides have been called the ants' cows, because the ants take care of them for the sake of the honey dew.

Some ants protect the aphids from their enemies. They drive off those insects that would devour the aphids, and when winter comes these ants carry the aphids down into their warm nests under ground, and keep them safe through the cold weather.

The aphides cannot stand wet weather, but after a long spell of dry weather they will be found in great abundance.

Sometimes they eat so fast and so much that the honey dew falls like a shower from the trees upon which they are. It covers the ground beneath and the leaves of plants, and makes everything very sticky and disagreeable to the touch. The dust settles on it, too and a growth something like mould often turns it black--as we find to our discomfort.

But when the honey dew is fresh the bees love it. They collect large quantities of it and make it into honey. Squirrels like it to.

It is great fun to watch the nimble squirrel folk sitting in the trees and holding a leaf between their little hands while they lick off the honey dew.

Children sometimes suck the honey dew from the leaves in back country places, where sugar is scarce and where candy is seldom to be had.

Which side of the leaf does the aphid prefer?

Yes, it is on the under side always.

I wonder why.

John says the aphides would be better protected in case of a shower.

Ned says the skin is tenderer on the under side and easier to pierce.

Mollie thinks they want to be in the shade out of the hot sunshine.