FORAGING ANTS. 385 



microscope, are seen to be stiff bristles, arranged in regular rings 

 round the mandibles. The thorax and abdomen are but slender ; 

 the limbs are long, giving evidence of great activity. In the 

 dried specimen, the color of the insect is yellowish-brown, becom- 

 ing paler on the head ; but when the creature is alive, the head is 

 nearly white. The eyes are very minute, looking like little round 

 dots on the side of the head, and being so extremely small that 

 they can scarcely be perceived without the aid of a magnifying- 

 glass. The half-inch power of the microscope shows that they 

 are oval and convex, but as they are set in little pits or depres- 

 sions, they do not project beyond the head. The hexagonal com- 

 pound lenses, which are generally found in insects, are not visible, 

 and the eye bears a great resemblance to that of the spider. 



The difference in dimensions of the workers is very remarka- 

 ble. The specimen which I have just described measures a little 

 under half an inch in length, exclusive of the limbs, while another 

 specimen is barely half that length, and in general appearance 

 much resembles the familiar ant, or emmet of our gardens. 



The presence of these insects may be always known by the 

 numbers of pittas, or ant-thrushes, which feed much upon them, 

 and which are sure to accompany a column of Foraging Ants on 

 the march. The ant-thrushes are odd, short-tailed birds, with 

 stout bodies, and a remarkably long hind claw. Some of this 

 species are decorated with colors of wonderful brilliancy, glitter- 

 ing with blue, green, copper-red, and purple, and having a pecul- 

 iar silken gloss. Others are soberly clad in simple brown and 

 white, and such are the birds which usually accompany the For- 

 aging Ants on their march. 



As soon as the experienced inhabitants of tropical America see 

 the ant-thrushes, they rejoice in the coming deliverance, and wel- 

 come the approaching army. The fact is, that in those countries 

 insect life swarms as luxuriously as the vegetation, and there are 

 many insects which, however useful in their own place, are apt 

 to get into houses, and there multiply to such an extent that they 

 become a real plague, and nearly drive the inhabitants out of 

 their own homes. They are bad enough by day, but at night 

 they issue from the nooks and crevices where they lay concealed, 

 and make their presence too painfully known. 



There are insects that bite, and insects that suck, and insects 

 that scratch, and insects that sting, and many are remarkable for 

 giving out a most horrible odor. Some of them are'cased in ar- 



Bb 



