Ants 



cavity of the gall is by means of the single hole which 

 is exactly the size of the soldier's head, and there he sits, 

 an animated portal with a stopper-shaped head. When 

 a worker wishes to go out into the world she strokes the 

 soldier's back and he moves aside to let her pass, at once 

 plugging the hole with his massive head when she has 

 done so. On her return, the worker strokes the soldier's 

 head with her feelers and he once more steps aside to let 

 her pass. 



In striking contrast to these relatively peaceful ants are 

 the slave-making species. These fall naturally into two 

 classes according to their habits. In the first class are 

 those slave-makers which pillage neighbouring nests and 

 carry off the young, as much from a spirit of conquest as 

 from necessity, for they are quite capable of existing, and 

 often do exist, without slaves. In the second class are the 

 ants which without their slaves are quite incapable of look- 

 ing after themselves. The European slave-maker, of the 

 first class, is a bloodthirsty little beast. It lives under 

 stones, in logs of wood or tree stumps. By many it is 

 considered the most gifted of ants, certainly it is the most 

 war-like, biting all intruders, and injecting acid from the 

 end of its body into the wound thus made. It is capable 

 of making its own nest, securing its own food and rearing 

 its young without the aid of slaves. In fact the enslaved 

 species, when present, only carry out the duties of ordinary 

 workers. 



The slave raids take place in July and August, after the 

 nuptial flights of the slave species have taken place. 

 Before a raid, scouts are sent out all over the neighbour- 

 hood to spy out the land and to discover favourable nests 

 for attack. The raiders, on the return of the scouts, leave 

 their nests in a straggling open phalanx, or even in several 

 detachments. They move over the ground by the most 

 direct route to their objective, continually shifting their 

 positions in the ranks as they go, some dropping back 

 as stragglers, others coming forward to take their places. 



53 



