1 86 FLASHLIGHTS ON NATURE 



makes raids against nests of the small yellow Turf 

 Ant, ' a mild and docile race, large numbers of 

 which it carries off to act as servants. But it does 

 not steal fully r grown Turf Ants ; their habits are 

 formed, and they would be useless for such a pur- 

 pose. What the Warrior Ant wants is raw material 

 which can be turned into thoroughly well-trained 

 servants. So it merely kills the adult ants which 

 strive to oppose its aggression, and contents itself 



NO. 3. A CONVERSATION: " LET'S GO SLAVE-HUNTING!" 



with trundling home to its own nest the larvae and 

 pupae of the Turf Ants which it has put to flight 

 and vanquished. In process of time, these grubs 

 and cocoons produce full-grown yellow workers, 

 which, having never known freedom, can be taught 

 by the Warrior Ants to act as nurses and House- 

 maids, exactly as if they were living in their own 

 proper city. I once saw in a garden in Algiers a 

 great pitched battle going on between slave-makers 



