THE BANANA RIVER COUNTRY 307 



quently appears divided into two nearly equal branches. 

 Macrothemis hemichlora has a wing-spread of two and one- 

 quarter to two and one-half Inches, the wings being usually 

 tinged more or less with yellowish; the females often, but 

 not always, have the apical two-fifths of the front wings 

 browner than the remainder of the wings. 



Going eastwardly along E Line I came to Agua Buena 

 Creek where It was unshaded except for bananas, and under 

 the little railroad bridge I saw a curious sight. A log a few 

 inches in diameter lay partly in, partly out, of water but 

 spanning the creek from bank to bank. From the soil at 

 one bank ran a small covered tunnel, made of little fragments 

 of wood, on to the upper, dry surface of the log. Farther 

 on this tunnel was entirely open and still farther there was 

 no tunnel at all. The uncovered portion and on to the bank 

 where no tunnel existed was arched over with a mass of 

 worker ants forming living roof and walls for the tunnel. 

 Their antennae were waving to and fro, giving the mass a 

 most dizzy appearance. With the workers were also some 

 soldiers. Within these living walls could be seen two files 

 of smaller workers running with great speed in opposite 

 directions, one file empty-" handed" (empty-jawed would 

 be more accurate), the other file bearing pupae and larvae. 

 I broke a portion of the tunnel where its roof and walls were 

 formed entirely of wood fragments. Almost immediately 

 a number of the larger workers appeared and stationed 

 themselves along the edges of the broken portion, with their 

 jaws wide open and their abdomens bent outward so as to 

 present both weapons — jaws and stings — to a possible foe 

 and so protect the files of workers which were running so 

 swiftly through the tunnel. The appearance of these guards 

 along the broken edges, with jaws and stings turned out- 

 ward, was quite laughable, but a blade of grass touching 

 them was savagely attacked. On both sides of the creek 



