362 ANIMALS OF EGA. Chap. V. 



ing forth first one leg and then another, to be brushed 

 or washed by one or more of its comrades, who per- 

 formed the task by passing the limb between the jaws 

 and the tongue, finishing by giviug the antennae a 

 friendly wipe. It was a curious spectacle, and one well 

 calculated to increase one's amazement at the similarity 

 between the instinctive actions of ants and the acts of 

 rational beings, a similarity which must have been 

 brought about by two different processes of develop- 

 ment of the primary qualities of mind. The actions of 

 these ants looked like simple indulgence in idle amuse- 

 ment. Have these little creatures, then, an excess of 

 energy beyond what is required for labours absolutely 

 necessary to the welfare of their species,^ and do they 

 thus expend it in mere sport iveness, like young lambs 

 or kittens, or in idle whims like rational beings \ It 

 is probable that these hours of relaxation and cleaning 

 may be indispensable to the effective performance of 

 their harder labours, but whilst looking at them, the 

 conclusion that the ants were engaged merely in play 

 was irresistible. 



JEciton prcedator. — This is a small dark-reddish spe- 

 cies, very similar to the common red stinging-ant of 

 England. It differs from all other Ecitons in its habit 

 of hunting, not in columns, but in dense phalanxes 

 consisting of myriads of individuals, and was first met 

 with at Ega, where it is very common. Nothing in 

 insect movements is more striking than the rapid march 

 of these large and compact bodies. Wherever they pass 

 all the rest of the animal world is thrown into a state 

 of alarm. They stream along the ground and climb to 



