70 RUcii—Prcshlmtial A^hlress. 



some plant or other near by. They are generally seen in double column, 

 one column ascendinj^ the plant and cutting otf' the leaves, ami the other 

 returning loaded to the nest. Great intelligence is shown by this ant in its 

 foraging expeditions. The cut leaves, either whole or in circular pieces, are 

 usually thrown on the ground by those who ascend the tree, while others 

 below receive and bear the fodder home. Each piece of leaf is grasi)ed 

 by the jaws, and, with a quick motion of the head, thrown back over the 

 head and thorax in such manner that it loilges edgewise in a deep fur- 

 row and between iwo spines wliich characterize the head, so as to cover 

 the insect more or less and oiler little or no obstacle to its progress. 

 Very long underground tunnels are sometimes excavated from the main 

 formicary to some shrub or tree so as to facilitate access thereto. The 

 stories told by southern planters of the ravages of this insect seem almost 

 in(;redible, but I have myself witnessed the utter denmlation of a large tree 

 in a single night, in which case all the forces of the formicary seemed to 

 be concentrated on a single object. 



Alia tdrdigradd. is found east of the Mississippi River, occurring through- 

 out the gulf States from Florida to Texas. In Florida what is evidently 

 this species builds rather large cells from two to four inches in diameter in 

 fine white sand, the walls very firm and smooth. In some instances the 

 walls are said to be lined with a kind of curtain composed of particles of 

 different colored sands bi'ought up from a lower stratum and interwoven 

 with fine white threads, by which is doubtless meant shreds of the refuse 

 vegetation collected — a kind of spongy mass, manufactured from the vege- 

 tation and somewhat resembling the comb made by certain bees. This 

 spongy mass contains small irregular pockets, apparentl}' designed for the 

 reception of the young, and in this we have the nearest tendency in ants to 

 the building of cells which is so common m some of the other social Hymen- 

 0]itera. This species jn'efers the tine neetiledike leaves of tender pine seed- 

 lings, and a row, marching in single file, each carrying a piece of one of 

 these needles, suggests a file of soliliers armed with rilies. 



Atta mexicxma Sm. abounds in the temperate regions of Mexico, its formi- 

 caries being twenty or more feet in diameter, and a funnel is said to extend 

 through its center to facilitate drainage, which would seem to be necessary 

 in a country subject to very heavy rains. The damage done by this species, 

 especially to cotJee jjlantations, is said to be very great. 



Atta ceplialote,^ L. is dreaded in Brazil becaase of its destructiveness to 

 vegetation and of its tendency to enter houses and carry olf the mandioca 

 meal. Its formicaries often reach a diameter of more than 100 feet. 



Nkst-building Ants. — Though we have in the United States no species 

 which constructs nests similar to those of wasps, yet such are known to 

 occur in other ])arts of the world, especially in troj^ical and sub-tropical 

 countries. The genera I'olyrhacis, Doliclioderus and Cremast(jgaster imitate 

 wasps in the construction of their nests. 



Some of the Brazilian species of Cremastogaster construct more or less 

 globular, black nests, about the size of a human head, fastened between the 

 branches of trees, large numbers of which may often be noticed among the 

 mangrove bushes bordering the shores of the ocean, and frequently so low 

 down as to lie but a few inches above high tide. Similar nests are common 

 in the West Indies, and look very much like young nests of l^utermes. 



The nest of Cremaiilogdder arbnreuH Sni., found at Port Natal, Africa, is 

 very large, measuring about fifteen inclies in length, by nine inches in 

 diameter. It is always built arouud a branch, resembles in texture and ap- 

 pearance the nest of our common ])aper wasp, VespK iiKictil/da, and contains 

 thousands of the insects. (See Smith, Cat., Hvm. Ins. Brit. Mus. Pt. VI, 

 pi. XIV. 



We see the beginnings of the nest-building habit in some of our North 

 American species, especially in Cremastogaster Jincolata Say, which builds 

 coverings over colonies of Aphides, the coverings composed of minute par- 

 ticles of vegetable and earthy matter firmly glued together ; or else makes 



