548 SAUBA ANTS. 



It is wonderful what extensive tunnels these ants will 

 form. Near Rio de Janeiro a tunnel was discovered, exca- 

 vated by the creatures under the River Parahiba, as broad as 

 the Thames at London Bridge. Near Para they, on one 

 occasion, pierced the embankment of a large reservoir to such 

 an extent as to allow the escape of a vast body of water before 

 the damage could be repaired. In the same neighbourhood 

 an attempt was made to destroy their colonies, by blowing 

 fumes of sulphur down the galleries by means of bellows. Mr. 

 Bates relates, that he saw smoke issuing from a vast number 

 of outlets, one of which was seventy yards distant from the 

 place where the bellows were used. 



They wander to a great distance in search of plunder, and 

 enter houses for the purpose of carrying off the farina or man- 

 dioca meal. The same naturalist relates that he was one 

 night awoke by his servant telling him that rats were robbing 

 the farina baskets. On listening, he was certain that the 

 noise was unlike that made by rats. On going to the store- 

 room he there found a broad column of sauba ants, consisting 

 of thousands of individuals, passing to and fro between the 

 door and his baskets of meal. Most of those passing out- 

 wards were loaded each with a grain of farina, larger and 

 many times heavier than the bodies of the carriers. The 

 baskets, which. were on a high table, were entirely covered 

 with ants, many hundreds of whom were employed in snipping 

 the dry leaves which served as a lining ; and this had pro- 

 duced the rustling sound which had disturbed him. He and 

 his servant in vain attempted to exterminate them by killing 

 them with their wooden clogs. Fresh hosts came on to take 

 the place of the slain. The next night they returned, when 

 he attempted to get rid of them by laying trains of gun- 



