46 OUR INSECT FRIENDS AND FOES 



toothless nippers, and are now only of service in 

 war. They and their larvae have to be fed by 

 their slaves, for they have become quite in- 

 capable of feeding themselves, and would perish 

 in^the midst of a plentiful food supply if there 

 were no slaves at hand to attend to their wants. 

 It is the slaves that build and keep the nest in 

 repair, and carry their mistresses on their backs 

 when the colony moves into new quarters. 



I have on several occasions had an oppor- 

 tunity of watching our English slave-making 

 Ants, Formica sanguined, engaged on a sudden 

 foray, and also the migration of a colony from 

 one nest to another ; both most interesting sights 

 to witness. Sanguinea has not been a slave- 

 maker for so many generations as the Rufescent 

 Ants, and consequently has not yet become so 

 dependent upon its slaves. This greater in- 

 dependence on the part of the Sanguineas is 

 seen when a colony of these Ants elect to change 

 their quarters, for they march off to their new 

 home carrying their slaves in their jaws instead 

 of being carried by their slaves, as is the case 

 when the Rufescent Ants migrate. It is the 

 nests of the little ; Black Ant (Formica fused) 

 which the Sanguinea generally attack and raid, 

 the encounters being of a most desperate 

 character, for the little Black Ants put up a most 

 valiant fight in the defence of their nest, and 

 sometimes succeed in driving off their big and 

 powerful foes. At the approach of the marauders 

 some of the little Black Ants rush forward and 

 attack the advance-guard, while others rush off 

 in great excitement into the nest to give the 



