64 Chapter II. 



ponotus compressus) attacked quite alone a whole 

 colony of small red ants (Solenopsis g'eminata). 

 Without moving from her place she remained before 

 the entrance of the Solenopsis nest from 4:30 p. m. 

 until night, seized the ants with her jaws as they came 

 out, and bit them in two. At last she was overpowered 

 by superior numbers, and after having killed 150 or 

 200 of her foes she paid for her temerity with her 

 life. We leave it to the modern worshippers of animal 

 intelligence to raise a monument to the memory of 

 this insect Leonidas. 



We need not, however, go as far as Bengal to find 

 'such examples of "heroism" of single ants. There 

 are plenty of them in the heaths of Germany and 

 Holland, and also in North America. During hot 

 weather strolling workers of sanguined will frequently 

 enter into a fierce battle with colonies of Lasius niger 

 or Tetramorium caespitum living in the neighborhood, 

 till at length, when too many of their opponents have 

 clung to their legs, they fall victims of their own fool- 

 hardiness. A scene, more harmless indeed, yet psy- 

 chologically not less remarkable, I observed near 

 Exaten on the afternoon of August 15, 1894. A large 

 worker of F. sanguinea amused herself for a quarter 

 of an hour by blockading all alone, a colony of the 

 small, red stinging ants (Myrmica scabrinodis). She 

 lurked about the entrance, seized by the neck one red 

 ant after another, as they came out, carried them quickly 

 to a distance of several inches, and dropped them in 

 order to be back again at once at the entrance to seize 

 the next customer. The Myrmicas scarcely attempted 

 any resistance, although several dozens of them were 



