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THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 



The sanguinary character of ant battles 

 is -well illustrated by the following account i 

 of a conflict in which a small species {Cre- 

 mastogaster Iceviceps) conquered a much 

 larger kind {Formica purpurea). 



The larger ants were seized by six or eight 

 of the smaller, "which held on with bulldog- 

 like tenacity, whilst more of their comrades 

 sawed the hapless prisoner into several 

 pieces. "When once the small ants get a good 

 hold they never let go, mutilation, and death 

 even, failing to loosen their grip. Many 

 of them were bitten off at the neck by the 

 powerful jaws of the large species, but still 

 the heads remained clamped on to the legs 

 and antennae of their adversaries." 



Ants pursue the same bulldog tactics in 

 capturing living prey. In Bermuda a small 

 red ant is a common enemy of the house fly, 

 as related beloAv:- 



"This creature attaches itself to the tarsus 

 of the fly by means of its mandibles. It 

 was a matter of common observation to see 

 flies on the wing with these small ants at- 

 tached. On one occasion I disengaged the 

 ant and placed it on a table. It remained 

 quiet until a fly came within suitable dis- 

 tance, when it made a rush, and was carried 

 off clinging to the leg of the fly. I believe 

 that the attack was made for the purpose 

 of finally eating the fly. The ant hung on 

 until its host became exhausted, and then 

 attacked a more vital spot than the foot, 

 and killed it." 



It is probable that this method is effec- 

 tive with a variety of middling size prey, 

 too large to be carried off bodily, but yet 

 small enough to be gradually worn down. I 

 once observed a common spotted cucumber 

 beetle (Diabrotica duodecimpunctata) with 

 a peculiar bunch underneath the fore part 

 of the body. Upon examination this bunch 

 proved to be an ant that had grasped both 

 front tarsi (how he got both of them I 

 would like to know) of the beetle in its jaws. 

 Even with this handicap, the beetle was able 

 to crawl up the window pane. It is prob- 

 able, however, that this incident would have 

 resulted in victory for the ant as the beetle 

 had no means of getting rid of its little 

 tormentor. 



Larger prey is clung to in the same way, 

 often, by several ants. In India an ob- 

 server 3 "once caught a butterfly (Euplaa 



^ By Mr. J. Booth, Fighting Ants, Victorian 

 Naturalist, 22, No. 4, Aug., 1905, pp. 75-6. 



- By Major H. A. Cummins. Science-Gossip, Vol. 

 VI, No. 64, London, Sept., 1899, p. 124. 



2 Dr. Erich Haase, Researches on Mimicn/, Part 

 II, 1896, p. 99. 



siameasis), which was especially conspicu- 

 ous from its extremely erratic flight, and 

 found that a red worker of the large wood 

 ant {CEcophylla smaragdina) had bitten it- 

 self fast on its body." Another interesting 

 case describes a struggle between some har- 

 vesting ants and a caterpillar : 



"I was once a witness of a singular con- 

 test between a soft-bodied, smooth, greyish 

 caterpillar, about an inch in length, and two 

 medium-sized barbara Ants. The Ants were 

 mere pigmies in comparison with their prey, 

 for as such, I believe, they regarded the 

 caterpillar, but they gripped its body with 

 set mandibles, showing the most savage de- 

 termination not to lose their hold. 



"When I first discovered the group, the 

 war Avas being waged in a tuft of grass over 

 one of the entrances to the Ants' nest, and 

 the caterpillar was striding along the leaves, 

 and thrusting itself between the culms in the 

 hope to shake off or brush away its little 

 persecutors. From time to time the cater- 

 pillar would turn viciously around and en- 

 deavour to pluck away its assailants; but 

 though it actually succeeded in stripping, 

 by means of forelegs and mouth, five of the 

 six legs of one of the Ants, which was within 

 its reach, they never loosened their hold. 



"At length, a chance movement of mine 

 shook the grass leaf on which they were, 

 and the Ants and caterpillar rolled together 

 down a steep and rocky slope to about four 

 feet distant. They tumbled over and over 

 several times, but still the Ants gripped 

 their prey as firmly as ever. 



"The last endeavour of the giant victim 

 was to rub off the Ants by burrowing into 

 the soil ; but on uncovering its retreat I saw 

 that their position was still the same. After 

 watching this struggle for twenty minutes, 

 time failed me, and I returned home, carry- 

 ing with me, however, the combatants. When 

 on my return I opened the box in which they 

 were imprisoned, these bulldog Ants were 

 clinging with mandibles locked as firmly as 

 ever ; and now as I write, in death they are 

 clinging still, drowned in a sea of spirits 

 of Avine." * 



The last observation reminds me of the 

 experience we have in examining bird stom- 

 achs filled with ants; some of the ants have 

 grasped other particles of food; some their 

 own limbs (and one finds jaws clamped 

 down on nearly severed legs) ; many seize 

 other ants, and sometimes, Avhen picking out 

 an ant from the mass with the forceps, a 

 Avhole cluster, like tacks attracted by a mag- 

 net, follows — bound together by the death 

 grip of the jaAvs. 



While still holding to the thread of tenac- 

 ity we cross the dividing line between ad- 



*\Vood, J. G., Insects Abroad. 1874, p. 447. 

 Observation attributed to a Mr. Moggridge. 



