286 THROUGH ANGOLA 



though they shrieked with laughter at each other's 

 bites and troubles at the time, had painful bodies 

 and rueful faces the morning after. 



I have suffered a similar experience a good many 

 times in other parts of Africa, and in almost every 

 instance have been bitten before I could get away. 

 As the soldier class of the driver ant has very 

 powerful mandibles, their bites are very painful, 

 and so deep that the ant's head has to be pulled 

 out carefully to free the jaw from the wound. 



There are many other kinds of ants in Angola, 

 red, brown, and black ; building below or above the 

 ground, in ant-hill, tree trunk, or tree leaf, but 

 though I opened up several nests I never once 

 found any " ant slaves." 



It is well known that certain ant tribes (usually 

 red ants) capture and carry off captives from their 

 weaker neighbours (usually black) to work as slaves. 

 Of course whenever a nest was opened up the 

 worker could be seen carrying off eggs and cocoon- 

 covered larvae, while the soldiers of the colony 

 would come out to give battle to the disturber, 

 but all the ants were of the same species. 



Though searching often, I found none of the 

 " agricultural ants '' which are stated to collect 



o 



certain grass seeds and even sow some of them 



c? 



round their home, so as to procure their food 

 supplies more readily. 



One reddish and rather large tree ant in Angola 

 made a home in a nest of leaves sown together with 

 silken thread, probably provided by its larvae, 

 which possess this material for the manufacture 

 of cocoons. The parents bring out their babies 



