SOME INSECT COMMUNITIES 41 



to shake off its foes by squirming and wriggling, 

 and rolling over and over, until at last, over- 

 powered and exhausted, it succumbs, and is 

 dragged off in triumph to the nest. When 

 watching these sanguinary encounters, I have 

 noticed that the Ants are far more ready to 

 attack the perfectly smooth-skinned Caterpillars 

 than those covered with hairs. Indeed, on more 

 than one occasion I have seen the Ants, after 

 making but a half-hearted attack upon one of 

 these very hairy Caterpillars, draw off and 

 permit it to go on its way. They make no 

 demur, however, about attacking any bumble 

 bees, hive bees, or wasps that they find in a 

 semi-torpid condition on the ground, calmly 

 cutting them up limb by limb, and carrying the 

 fragments off to the nest. In the same way 

 they will take to pieces, joint by joint, a lordly 

 stag-beetle, should they come upon him lying 

 helplessly on his back like an overturned turtle. 

 They will also quickly remove the flesh from the 

 body of any small bird or beast that may lie near 

 the nest, leaving nothing but a perfectly cleaned 

 skeleton in a remarkably short space of time. 

 Indeed, in this way the Ants play a very 

 important part as natural scavengers. 



Once more returning to our Wood Ants' 

 nest, let us watch the more peaceful, but no less 

 interesting, occupations of those workers who 

 devote themselves to the labours of keeping the 

 nest in order, guarding and tending the precious 

 eggs, larvae, and pupae, and attendance on the 

 queen, or queens. As I have already noted, the 

 adult queens are winged, but after their marriage 



