362 PERFECT SOCIETIES OF INSECTS. 



the whole history of the battle with the greatest fidelity !" A similar 

 engagement between great and small ants is recorded by Olaus Magnus, 

 in which the small ones being victorious are said to have buried the bodies 

 of their own soldiers, but left those of their giant enemies a prey to the 

 birds. This event happened previous to the expulsion of the tyrant Chris- 

 tiern 11. from Sweden. ^ 



M. P. Huber is the only modern author that appears to have been 

 witness to these combats. He tells us that, when the great attack the 

 small, they seek to take them by surprise (probably to avoid their fasten- 

 ing themselves to their legs), and, seizing upon them by the upper part of 

 the body, they strangle them with their mandibles ; but when the small 

 have time to foresee the attack, they give notice to their companions, who 

 rush in crowds to their succor. Sometimes, however, after suffering a 

 signal defeat, the smaller species are obliged to shift their quarters, and to 

 seek an establishment more out of the way of danger. In order to cover 

 their march, many small bodies are then posted at a little distance from the 

 nest. As soon as the large ants approach the camp, the foremost sentinels 

 instantly fly at them with the greatest rage ; a violent struggle ensues ; 

 multitudes of their friends come to their assistance ; and, though no match 

 for their enemies singly, by dint of numbers they prevail, and the giant is 

 either slain or led captive to the hostile camp. The species whose pro- 

 ceedings M. Huber observed were jP. hercidanea a.nd F.sanguinea,ne'nher 

 of which have yet been discovered in Britain.^ 



But if you would see more numerous armies engaged, and survey war 

 in all its forms, you must witness the combats of ants of the same species ; 

 you must go into the woods where the hill-ant of Gould (F. riifa) erects 

 its habitations. There you will sometimes behold populous and rival 

 cities, like Rome and Carthage, as if they had vowed each others destruc- 

 tion, pouring forth their myriads by the various roads that, like rays, 

 diverge on all sides from their respective metropolises, to decide by an 

 appeal to arms the fate of their little world. As the exploits of frogs and 

 mice were the theme of Homer's muse, so, were I gifted like him, might I 

 celebrate on this occasion the exhibition of Myrmidonian valor ; but, 

 alas ! I am Davus, not Qi^dipus ; you must, therefore, rest contented, if I 

 do my best in plain prose ; and I trust you will not complain if, being 

 unable to ascertain the name of any one of my heroes, my Myrmidonoma- 

 chia be perfectly anonymous. 



Figure to yourself two of these cities equal in size and population, and 

 situated about a hundred paces from each other ; observe their countless 

 number, equal to the population of two mighty empires. The whole 

 space which separates them for the breadth of twenty-four inches appears 

 alive with prodigious crowds of their inhabitants. The armies meet 

 midway between their respective habitations, and there join battle. Thou- 

 sands of champions, mounted on more elevated spots, engage in single 

 combat, and seize each other with their powerful jaws ; a still greater 

 number are engaged on both sides in taking prisoners, which make vain 

 efforts to escape, as if conscious of the cruel fate which awaits them when 

 arrived at the hostile formicary. The spot where the battle most rages 

 is about two or three square feet in dimensions : a penetrating odor exhales 



' Mouffet, Theatr. Lis. 242. * Huber, 160. 



