42 HAR VESTING A NTS. 



waged in a tuft of grass over one of the entrances to 

 the ants' nest, and the caterpillar was striding along 

 the leaves, or thrusting itself between the culms in 

 the hope to shake off or brush away its little persecu- 

 tors. lYom time to time the caterpillar would turn 

 viciously round and endeavour to pluck away its 

 assailants, but though it actually succeeded in strip- 

 ping off by means of its forelegs and mouth five of 

 the six legs of one of the ants which was within its 

 reach, they never once released their hold. 



At length a chance movement of mine shook the 

 grass leaf on which they were, and ants and cater- 

 pillar rolled together down a steep and rocky slope to 

 about four feet distant. They tumbled over and over 

 several times, but still the ants gripped their prey as 

 firmly as ever. 



The last endeavour of the giant victim was to rub 

 off the ants b}^ burrowing into the soil, but on un- 

 covering its retreat, I saw that their positions were still 

 the same. After watching this struggle for twenty 

 minutes, time failed me, and I returned home, carrying 

 with me, however, the combatants ; and when on 

 my return I opened the box in which they were im- 

 prisoned, these bull-dog ants were clinging with man- 

 dibles locked as firmly as ever, and now as I write, 

 in death they are clinging still, drowned in a sea of 

 spirits of wine. 



During the winter and spring I kept two colonies 

 of harbara captive in the house, placed in separate 

 glass jars, each of which might perhaps hold half a 

 gallon. The former of these colonies was taken on 

 December 18 ; but neither the queen ant nor larvae 

 were found, though there probably were larva3 in some 



