A NATURALIST IN NICARAGUA. 91 



strange indeed if these conditions found no expression in those modi- 

 fications of both form and habit which secure safety to the creature, 

 and aflbrd means of defense as well as of attack. 



The well-known habit of animals in making their nests or burrows 

 in places of safety was noticed in a species of birds which build their 

 nests in bushes infested by stinging ants : a small parrot builds in a 

 hole made in the nests of the termites, and a small fly-catcher builds 

 alongside of the nests of one of the wasps. 



The account given of the foraging ants {Ecitoois) is most interest- 

 ing. They live solely on insects and similar prey; ransack houses, and 

 clear them of insects of every kind. They appear to be without fixed 

 abodes, and advance in columns three or four yards wide, with flank, 

 advance, and rear columns, millions in number. Their presence is an- 

 nounced by the noise of birds, as trogons, ant-thrushes, and others, 

 which follow them for the insects which take wing, terrified by their 

 destroyers. Grasshoppers, cockroaches, and others, are seized, bitten 

 in pieces, and the fragments conveyed to the rear of the columns. 



The temporary abodes of these ants seem to be a crevice or dense 

 mass of brushwood, but in a few days they are off* to new grounds. 

 Small parties ascend trees in search of wasps' nests, and, if found, 

 information is conveyed to the swarms below, when a column ascends, 

 takes possession of the nest, and devours or removes the young, the 

 wasps being powerless before the multitude. 



While ants which hunt singly have eyes well developed, the eyes 

 of the Ecitons are small, imperfect, and in some species wanting, and 

 they evidently follow each other by scent. This was shown in the 

 following manner : A party or column following a leader will become 

 distracted if his track, which they will follow in its minutest wind- 

 ings, is interfered with. Mr. Belt scraped away the clay which the 

 leader had gone over, and the followers were completely at fault until 

 they had gone around the scraped portion, when, on striking the trail 

 again, their hesitation vanished, and they followed it with the great- 

 est confidence. 



They aid each other in difiiculty with a sympathy and intelligence 

 that are extraordinary, and overcome dangers of very rare occurrence. 

 On one being partially buried with atoms of clay, the others removed 

 them ; a small lump, too heavy for them to move, was instantly bitten 

 to pieces, a dozen or more being summoned to assist. They aid each 

 other in ascending steep places, in crossing water, and in every move- 

 ment aflbrd evidence of wonderful social order. 



Not less interesting than these were the leaf-cutting ants ( CEcGcloma)^ 

 common in tropical America. Their order, sagacity, and underground 

 abodes, were a subject of wonder and study. All introduced species 

 of trees are directly attacked by them, and, unless carefully watched, 

 are d?estroyed. Mr. Belt turned the tide of war by pouring a strong 

 solution of carbolic acid, in water, into their formicaries ; straightway 



