THEIR MODE OF FIGHTING. 163 



Blackie promptly availed himself of one, and held on. 

 There was a great whirligig going on. 



"Enter wood ant No. 3, investigates matter and 

 makes a great onslaught on poor blackie, who, however, 

 will not let go. After a while No. 3, not being himself 

 troubled as to his antennae, discovers that he has busi- 

 ness elsewhere, and goes. Same struggle goes on for 

 another ten minutes. No man could have held out for 

 five. 



"At last I detach No. 1, who goes off in dudgeon. 

 Blackie and No. 2 have a grand rough-and-tumble, or 

 rather, several rough-and-tumbles, but they all end with 

 the same status quo. Blackie still holds on like grim 

 death, and No. 2 continues backing and dragging blackie 

 up hill and down dale for more than twenty minutes. 

 Then the school-bell rang, and I had to go, leaving them 

 fighting. I wonder what became of blackie." 



The tenacity with which ants will retain their hold 

 far exceeds that of the bulldog. Like that animal, they 

 will allow themselves to be killed sooner than loosen 

 their hold ; but unlike the dog, the jaws do not relax 

 their grip after death. It is quite common to see one 

 ant encumbered by the head of a dead foe hanging on 

 its legs by the jaws ; and with some exotic species, the 

 only plan when attacked is, to pull the bodies away 

 from the heads, and detach the jaws afterwards. 



During a recent visit to Plymouth, I witnessed a 

 curious example of this tenacity. 



jMr. G. C. Bignell, a gentleman well known in the 



