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Abstract
Methods of keeping large and small colonies of the Argentine ant under observation in the laboratory are described, as well as methods of feeding measured quantities of various foodstuffs and of testing poison baits. There is a brief account of the world-wide distribution of the pest and of its spread in South Africa. The habits, life-history and annual cycle under South African conditions are dealt with. Experiments to determine the reaction of the ants to light of various wavelengths and to a number of different scents are described, as well as a new type of maze, devised for the study of the means by which the insects find their way to and from their nests. After numerous experiments with poison baits, particularly with weak arsenicals made up on the lines of the well-known ‘Barber’ formula, the author reaches the conclusion that they are inefficient and do not kill off the queens and immature stages in the nests, as is commonly alleged. Dieldrin is deadly, but may have very harmful unwanted effects in the soil. D.D.T. is considered to be the best and safest remedy at present in use.
