26 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



Ants are found, but I was unable to visit them. They are said 

 to build long, narrow structures, always running from east to 

 west, and never to vary from that direction. A small kind of 

 hornet is often found in the scrubs, and is very troublesome. 

 It builds its pretty combs in varying situations, but not far 

 from the ground, frequently hanging on the lower side of some 

 large leaf, and difficult to detect. The first intimation one often 

 has of their presence is by their quickly alighting on one's 

 shoulders and arms and stinging sharply, which generally has the 

 effect of at once driving their enemy away. When securing birds' 

 nests in their immediate proximity we used first to drive them 

 off with smoke. Ants were everywhere, and in great variety, es- 

 pecially the Green Ant, a very pugnacious species, which builds 

 its nest of leaves in the trees. Fortunately, they are not very 

 venomous, but for all that they bite very hard and will not 

 leave go ; if disturbed they at once go for the intruder. Their 

 nests are often large, and made of leaves fastened together 

 with a white kind of substance. This ant swarms everywhere, 

 and is a troublesome pest. The natives secure their nests and 

 emptying all the larvae into a dilly bag, squeeze it out into water ; 

 it makes a very acid drink. On one occasion only did I see the 

 Bull-dog Ant, Myrmecia pyriformis, and the Hopper Ant, 

 Myrmecia, sp., and that was on a small patch of clear country 

 surrounded by dense scrub. We camped there one wet night, 

 and after the blacks had built a humpy of Lawyer Palm leaves to 

 keep out the rain, we discovered two Bull-dog Ants' nests close 

 by, so had to amuse ourselves by killing all stray ones, and 

 making a fire on top of the nests to keep the others from coming 

 out. Only one of my companions felt one during the night ; 

 he gave a yell and jumped up with an ant hanging on to one of 

 his fingers. It banished sleep from our eyes for some time, as we 

 did not know who would be the next to feel one. A nest of 

 Hoppers was also about two feet from the humpy, but they did 

 not trouble us. I noticed their abdomen was mostly white, 

 instead of being black like the Victorian species. There was a 

 kind of very small red ant, which used to get everywhere, into 

 one's boxes, &c. ; as, being so minute, they wanted very little 

 room to get in, it made very little difference to them whether the 

 box was shut or not. They destroyed any butterflies, moths, &c, 

 &c, they could find, and were a source of great annoyance. A 

 small black ant was also nearly as troublesome, getting at every- 

 thing in the shape of food very quickly, and infesting the honey- 

 laden flowers. A splendid collection of Formicidse could be 

 made here. There are said to be eight kinds of native bees in 

 this district ; they are all small and sting very slightly, though 

 some more severely than others, and the different kinds vary in 

 size and colour. They build their hives in various places — some 



