PERFECT SOCIETIES OF INSECTS. 71 



Nicholas Pistoriensis, an eminent lawyer, who related 

 the whole history of the battle with the greatest fidelity !" 

 A similar engagement between great and small ants is 

 recorded by Olaus Magnus, in which the small ones be- 

 ing victorious are said to have buried the bodies of their 

 own soldiers, but left those of their giant enemies a prey 

 to the birds. This event happened previous to the expul- 

 sion of the tyrant Christiern the Second from Sweden a . 

 M. P. Huber is the only modern author that appears 

 to have been witness to these combats. He tells us that, 

 when the great attack the small, they seek to take them 

 by surprise, (probably to avoid their fastening themselves 

 to their legs,) and, seizing them by the upper part of 

 the body, they strangle them with their mandibles ; but 

 when the small have time to foresee the attack, they 

 give notice to their companions, who rush in crowds 

 to their succour. Sometimes, however, after suffering a 

 signal defeat, the smaller species are obliged to shift 

 their quarters, and to seek an establishment more out of 

 the way of danger. In order to cover their march, many 

 small bodies are then posted at a little distance from the 

 nest. As soon as the large ants approach the camp, the 

 foremost sentinels instantly fly at them with the greatest 

 rage, a violent struggle ensues, multitudes of their friends 

 come to their assistance, and, though no match for their 

 enemies singly, by dint of numbers they prevail, and the 

 giant is either slain or led captive to the hostile camp. 

 The species whose proceedings M. Huber observed* were 

 F. herculanea and F. sanguinea, neither of which have 

 yet been discovered in Britain b . 



a Mouffet, Theatr. Im. 242. b Huber, 160. 



