TILE HlTlXa VUWEnS OF AXTS 



143 



sorted close together at their bases ninl ]>rn- 

 vidcd along their inner edges with :i fiw 

 sense-hairs which are nearly as long as the 

 mandibles. When the ant is excited it 

 opens its mandibles to their utmost extent, 

 till they form together a straight line at 

 right angles with the long axis of the body. 

 Then as soon as a hard object is touched by 

 the sense-hairs, the blades are suddenly 

 closed, striking the object with their tips 

 with sufficient force to throw the insect 

 backwards into the air for a distance of 

 several inches." This habit is also exhibited 

 by several other genera and species with 

 similar mandibles, among them "the Jarge- 

 eyed Brazilian Giganliops destructor, which 

 is able to 'leap from twig to twig,' and an 

 Indian ant, Harpcgnathus cruentatus, with 

 extraordinary mandibles, which is said to 

 leap forward like a grasshopper to a dis- 

 tance of eighteen inches (Wroughton),"i 

 A New Guinean ant only three mm. long can 

 spring on the average forty-seven cm., which 

 is more than one hundred and fifty times its 

 own length. 



From remarkable leaping performances it 

 is easy to pass to feats of strength. The 

 following observations - were recorded a few 

 years ago: 



"While walking on the university campus 

 the other day, my attention was arrested by 

 what appeared to be a grasshopper moving 

 along the sidewalk without using his hind 

 legs. Upon closer examination, I saw that 

 the grasshopper Avas dead and was being 

 dragged along by a small ant. 



The difference between the size of the lit- 

 tle laborer and his load was so extraordinary 

 that I thought it might be of interest to 

 know the exact Aveight of each. I accord- 

 ingly weigliod them carefully on an analyti- 

 cal balance and obtained the following fig- 

 ures: 



Weight of ant 

 Weight of grasshopper 



.3.2 mg. 

 190.0 mg. 



Thus, the ant was dragging a load that 

 weighed approximately sixty times his own 

 weight. This is equivalent to a man Avhose 

 weight is 150 lbs. dragging a load of 4^/2 

 tons, or a horse of 1,200 lbs., a load of 3H 

 tons! Is this not somewhat remarkable?" 



We must admit that the feat is remark- 

 able, but this record like so many others, has 

 emphatically been broken. An Australian 

 ant (Myrmccia forflcata) has been known, 



'Wheeler. Ants, 1910, p. 180. 

 ' Observations by Mr. Armand R. Miller. Sci- 

 ence, Vol. 16, X. S.. Sept. 26, 1902. pp. 514-15. 



while suspending itself by its feet, to sup- 

 port ill its mandibles a pair of gloves which 

 were more than 1100 times its own weight. 

 Working out ecjuivalents after the fashion 

 above, it is clear that this performance 

 would only be e(|uale<l if the one hundred 

 and fifty pound man, hanging by his toes, 

 supported in his teeth a weight of eighty- 

 two tons. 



Seriously, however, these feats — the real 

 ones of the ants, I mean — do point toward a 

 conspicuous characteristic of the biting pow- 

 ers — namely, tenacity. This is the threjid 

 upon which will be strung most of the re- 

 maining incidents in "jawology" I have to 

 cite. The ant just mentioned as supporting 

 the gloves is popularly known in Australia 

 as the bulldog or bull ant, it not being 

 known "whether they most deserve the name 

 of bulldog from the square shape of the 

 head, their pugilistic disposition, or from 

 their tenacity in retaining a hold. They cer- 

 tainly deserve the title by reason of their 

 courage." •' 



The latter trait is common to all aiits; 

 fear does not enter their make-up; battle is 

 unhesitatingly entered into with any foe no 

 matter what the odds, and self-sacrifice is a 

 universal rule. 



"The mandibles are the principal weapons 

 and these alone in the larger species of 

 Camponotus and Atta are sometimes em- 

 ployed with telling effect. In the Myrmi- 

 ciuse and Ponerinae their action is often sup- 

 plemented by that of a Avell-developed sting. 

 Many species of Formica spray their ene- 

 mies with formic acid, or inject it into their 

 victim by moving the gaster forward and 

 centering its tip on the wound made by their 

 mandibles. In battles with other species or 

 aliens of their own species they pull their 

 opponents' legs or antennae with their man- 

 dibles and spray the tense membranes be- 

 tween the joints. ... In Polyergus and 

 Leptogenys all the workers have sickle- 

 shaped mandibles adapted to piercing the 

 heads or bodies of their victims." * 



"This instrument, for the two mandibles 

 work together as one organ — ... is at once 

 a war-club, battle-axe, and sword ; it will 

 decapitate a foe with the facility of a 

 sabre or guillotine, will sever a leg or an- 

 tenna as deftly as a scimitar, or crush a 

 skull in its formidable vise as would n 

 tomahawk or club. It is terrible to see, in 

 the fierce encounter of emmet warriors, the 

 cruel havoc wrought by this weapon." = 



^ Quoted from Mr. K. R, Barker, Virtnrinn 

 Xntiiralitit, 20. N'o. 8. Dec, 1903, p. 105. 

 ♦Wheeler, Ants, 1910, pp. 181-182. 

 * McCook. Ant Communitieg, 1909, pp. 206-207. 



