THE BIG ANT CARPENTERS. 45 



ANT. It hides its nest, or makes it where it will not be 

 noticed. 



FLORENCE. That ant is a giant half an inch long, or 

 twice your length, and four times as long as these Garden 

 ants. It has a single hump on its back instead of a double 

 one, as you have. 



ANT. Go on. 



FLORENCE. It likes sugar better than you do; is 

 smarter than you; goes alone while out foraging, and you 

 are not afraid of it. Its jaws are coarse saw-toothed, 

 instead of being edged like yours. 



ANT. Yes. 



FLORENCE. One after another I got five of your ants 

 on the end of a straw and shoved each into the face of the 

 Big ant as she was eating a lump of sugar at your door. 

 She simply moved out of the way and kept on eating. It 

 took her half an hour to get enough. 



ALBERT. I suppose everybody in town knows the Big 

 ant, as it is found in many door yards and is often seen 

 walking on the sidewalk. 



FLORENCE. Every morning I find the bodies of six 

 to twelve of these ants at your door. Will you explain? 



ANT. Don't be too sure that we capture it alive. Watch 

 and you will learn. We are plodding hard workers and 

 don't look for trouble. We are slow, careful, not inclined 

 to fight, and mind our own business. We don't try to 

 make a living off the wits of others. 



KENNETH. I counted five teeth on each jaw of the 

 Big ant. Such jaws could capture, hold and tear an 

 enemy and cut fruit. 



ANT. Some day you will learn how they are used in 

 house making. 



