FORAGING ANTS. 389 



* Each insect knows its own place and its own work, and so per- 

 fect is the organization, that during the busy season the long 

 train resolves itself into two distinct columns, one going out to. 

 search for food, and the other returning home laden with spoil. 



Another species, Eciton rapax, is also in the habit of attacking 

 the nest of various ants. In habits it is very similar to the pre- 

 ceding insect, and is chiefly remarkable for being the largest of 

 all the Ecitons, the average length being half an inch. 



The last species of Eciton which I shall mention is that won- 

 derful species which is called the Blind Ant {Eciton erratica). 



I have already mentioned that in Eciton drepanophora the eyes 

 are very small, but in the Blind Ant they are absolutely wanting, 

 the horny covering of the head being quite uniform, without the 

 least trace of external eyes. Some naturalists have thought that 

 the Blind Ant may possess organs of vision, and that the horn} r 

 covering of the head is sufficiently transparent to admit the light. 

 That the insects can distinguish light from darkness is perfectly 

 true, for they display the greatest uneasiness when brought into 

 the light, and therefore it is possible that the optic nerves may be 

 in some degree affected, though there are no external organs of 

 vision. But the covering of the head is certainly too thick and 

 too opaque to permit distinct vision, and that the insect can see 

 an object clearly is manifestly impossible. 



These insects are wonderful builders, and bear a great resem- 

 blance to the termites in many of their proceedings. The reader 

 will remember that the termites always choose to work under cov- 

 er, and proceed from one place to another by means of galleries, 

 which they construct with great rapidity. The Blind Ant acts in 

 a precisely similar manner, constructing long galleries through 

 which it travels. These galleries are of small dimensions, though 

 their length is almost unlimited, and they are made in a very 

 flimsy manner, without the use of any cement. If the observer 

 wishes to capture any of the large-headed officers, he can easily 

 do so by breaking down any part of the gallery. As soon as the 

 unwelcome light streams in, the soldiers are seen to come slowly 

 out, moving their great heads from side to side, and opening their 

 powerful jaws with silent menace. If they are not farther dis- 

 turbed, they will retire into the gallery, and the breach is soon 

 mended by the workers. 



These galleries can not be called tunnels, because they are built 

 upon the surface of the earth, and do not penetrate below it, and 



