^ Fauna : I n vertebrates 



phonograph. Into these clay cells they stuff torpid grubs, 

 caterpillars, or spiders that have first been half killed by the 

 wasps' stings. It is said to be only the large, brightly coloured 

 (black and gold) female that is known to us. The small male 

 of this Mason wasp has not been clearly identified. 



There are also glistening grey wasps, with very attenuated 

 waists, possibly of the genus Polistes or Belenogaster, that build 

 paper nests underneath branches or leaves. These can attack 

 ferociously any traveller who disturbs them, inflicting severe 

 stings. They are common in the mangrove swamps. 



The lord of the Liberian forests is not the mighty elephant 

 nor the cruel leopard, but the driver ant of the genus Anomma 

 or Dorylus. 1 This creature is a frightful pest, owing to its 

 destructive capabilities. Where it comes from and whither it 

 goes seems a mystery, because an unending stream of these 

 ants soldiers and workers may be followed up for two miles 

 or more without any diminution in its volume or without arriving 

 at the fountain-head of this ant army. Their permanent homes 

 are said to be in some pit or excavation round the roots of 

 a huge tree. But the present writer has never been fortunate 

 enough to discover the place of origin of these ants. Their 

 home would have to be a large one to contain the millions 

 that must be represented in these inch-wide runs that permeate 

 the country in all directions. 



The driver ants use some of these runs with a certain 



1 Perhaps Dorylus diadcmus. About not a few ants of tropical countries there is 

 a considerable confusion of nomenclature due to the difficulty of collecting and 

 identifying all the individual types of each species. Some species are named from 

 the adult breeding male or female ; others from the wingless worker or soldier type. 

 The winged male of these terrible drivers (? or the female) is a large hairy insect 

 with a very long mobile body which seems to possess a sting. This creature 

 with short wings and disproportionate body is usually named " Dorylus" It flies 

 into houses at night when attracted by a lamp. The worker of this form is styled 

 both Typhlopone and Anomma. 



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