22 THE NATURALIST IX NICARAGUA. [Cli. II, 



caused it to become the prey of the Eciton. At any rate, 

 I never saw the Ecitons attack the nest of any other 

 species. 



The moving columns of Ecitons are composed almost 

 entirely of workers of different sizes, hut at intervals of 

 two or three yards there are larger and lighter coloured 

 individuals that often stop, and sometimes run a little 

 backward, stopping and touching some of the ants with 

 their antenna?. They look like the officers giving orders 

 and directing the march of the column. 



This species is often met with in the forest, not in 

 quest of one particular form of prey, but hunting, like 

 Eciton predator, only spread out over a much greater 

 space of ground. Crickets, grasshoppers, scorpions, cen- 

 tipedes, wood-lice, cockroaches, and spiders are driven 

 out from below the fallen leaves and branches. Many of 

 them are caught by the ants, others that get away are 

 picked up by the numerous birds that accompany the 

 ants, as vultures follow the armies of the East. The 

 ants send off exploring parties up the trees, which hunt 

 for nests of wasps, bees, and probably birds. If they find 

 any, they soon communicate the intelligence to the army 

 below, and a column is sent up immediately to take pos- 

 session of the prize. I have seen them pulling out the 

 larva) and pupa) from the cells of a large wasp's nest, 

 whilst the wasps hovered about, powerless, before the 

 multitude of the invaders, to render any protection to 

 their young. 



I have no doubt that many birds have acquired 

 instincts to combat or avoid the great danger to which 

 their young are t exposed by the attacks of these and' 

 other ants. Trogons, parrots, toucans, mot-mots, and: 



