on Indian ants. 353 



comes in its way ; I say almost, for I have seen it dis- 

 tinctly avoid the big workers of compressus, and on one 

 or two occasions also the workers of (Ecopliylla smarag- 

 dina, when placed at a slight disadvantage in the way 

 of position and numbers ; it is armed with a very 

 powerful sting, which inflicts by far the most painful 

 and lasting wound of any hymenopterous insect I am 

 acquainted with, and I have had experience of the stings 

 of most Indian bees, wasps, and ants. It is very possible 

 this may be considered by many who know the ant as 

 too high an estimate of its stinging powers, but there 

 are stings and stings. I have had hundreds of casual 

 ones, and thought no more of them than of the stings 

 of a Polistes or Pompilus ; but once allow this ant to get 

 a firm hold with its mandibles, and then, doubling its 

 body, plunge its sting, so to speak, up to the hilt, and 

 go on stinging, and the result is an entomological 

 experience that few would care to try again. I have had 

 several of these little experiences, and will give the 

 following details of the worst : — 



I was out collecting in Barrackpore Park, and one of 

 these ants got on my left hand and stung me just under 

 a heavy snake-ring I was wearing. I was foolish enough 

 to allow it to operate m the above-mentioned thorough 

 fashion before I brushed her off, and never thought of 

 removing the ring until the finger was too swollen to do 

 so. On my return home I tried to reduce the swelling 

 with ice, but without success ; the whole hand puffed 

 out, the inflammation extending right up the arm to the 

 shoulder ; the finger itself turned blue, and looked and 

 felt like bursting. I spent a wretched night, and the 

 first thing in the morning sent to the bazaar for a native 

 jeweller (Johari), who cut the ring off for me, but it was 

 a painful operation, and it was two days before I was 

 quite right again. I was in perfect health at the 

 time, and in football training, w^hich will give some 

 idea of the effect of the poison when rufo-nigra has 

 sufficient time to make a really deliberate and well- 

 sustained sting. 



In my compound at No. 45 Cantonment, Barrackpore, 

 I had a very tine bael-tree, covered every year with fruit, 

 of which my mali (native gardener) was especially fond ; 

 but the tree was much frequented by Pseudomyrma, and 

 little "Adjun-mali" never went up to pick the fruit 



