228 ANTS. C!hap. XI. 



SO easily when it rains ; in despite of this, many are 

 found drowned after a heavy storm, so that the spe- 

 cies is not very abundant; besides, the burning of 

 the prairie must also destroy many. Their bite is 

 very painful, and is felt for a long time afterwards. 

 When trodden upon they emit a strong smell. I 

 have never been able to find out the nest of these 

 ants, and have never seen a winged one. 



The Ozhoni Ant. — This is a much smaller species 

 than the Mogokora ; it is found in the prairie and on 

 the borders of the forest. Like the former it is 

 essentially a ground ant. It seems more voracious 

 than its powerful neighbour, for they capture their 

 own species alive and devour them. I have often 

 assisted at these fights. The attacking party is sure 

 always to be larger than the attacked, which, though 

 much weaker, offers great resistance, knowing what 

 will be its fate if it cannot escape. The ants wrestled 

 together, and sometimes the attacked succeeded in 

 escaping, but generally they are recaptured. 



If one of the ants is not strong enough to over- 

 power its victim or drag it along, then two or three 

 will iniite to help it. 



The sting of this species reminded me almost of 

 the sting of a bee^ and I have myself suffered in- 

 tensely from it — once for more than two hours, in 

 despite of the ammonia which I applied to the sting. 



The Stingmj Black Ant. — I have only noticed this 

 species in the Otando country ; it is very scarce and 

 only found in the forest, climbing along trunks of 



