226 ANTS. Chap. XT. 



had broken. I observed that they never went out- 

 side the cells to get their matei'ials. No masons 

 could have worked more systematically. 



But how could the clay which I saw them take dry 

 become suddenly wet ? I took a small reed and ad- 

 vanced it quietly towards some ; they made a spring 

 at it (for these ants' bites are far worse than the others) 

 and seized it with their nippers, and then threw upon 

 it a little whitish thickish matter, the same stuff that 

 made the clay wet and ready for building purposes. 

 During the working time not one of the largest 

 class was in sight. The soldiers kept watch, and 

 it was only just before the wall was closed that they 

 retired. 



As in the other species, only a single class out of 

 the three worked. This ant is not the Termes belli- 

 cosus of Smeathman ; which erects far larger build- 

 ings, and is rather well known on the coast of 

 Africa. It has been described by several travellers ; 

 but I have never met with a single specimen. M. 

 Serval, in his ' Exploration of the Ogobai,' mentions 

 having seen an ant-hive four metres high. This 

 would correspond with the height of the sheltered 

 hives built by the Termes bellicosus. In them 

 Smeathman found only labourers and soldiers — ■ 

 •fighting ants, as he calls them. Smeathman gives 

 a most graphic and interesting account of this 

 species. From his account it would appear that the 

 Termes bellicosus builds the sheltered hives in the 

 same way as the forest ants do. Professor Owen 

 kindly lent me Smeathman's paper, which was 

 published in 1781. 



