273 



CHAPTER XXIV. 



SOCIAL INSECTS— [continued). 



A curious Ant from India [Myrmica Kirbii) — Locality of its nest — Description 

 of the nest, its material and mode of structure — The Driver Ant of Africa 

 — Description of the insect — Reason for its name — Its general habits — De- 

 structive powers of the Driver Ant — How the insects devour meat and convey 

 it home — How they kill snakes — Native legend of the python — Their mode 

 of march — Fatal effects of the sunbeams — An extemporised arch — Method of 

 escaping from floods — Site of their habitation — Modes of destroying them — 

 Living ladders and their structure — Method of crossing streams — Tenacity of 

 life — A decapitated Ant — Mode of biting — Description of the insect — Amazon 

 Ants and their slaves — Curious nest of a Brazilian Wasp — Weight of the 

 nest and method of attachment. 



Although several species of Ants have been mentioned under 

 the title of burrowing insects, there are many which possess 

 very interesting habits, and which may here take their place 

 among the creatures which build social habitations. Among 

 them is a curious insect inhabiting India, and discovered by 

 Colonel Sykes, the well-known naturalist, who called it Myrmica 

 Kirbii. 



This insect forms its nest on the branches of tr^es and 

 shrubs, and Colonel Sykes mentions that he has found their 

 curious habitation on the branches of the Kurwund shrub, 

 Carissa Carandas, and on the Mango tree, Mangifera Ifidica. 



The nests are more or less spherical, and are about as large 

 as an ordinary foot-ball. The material of which they are made 

 is cow-dung, which is spread in flakes in a manner that re- 

 minds the observer of the outside cover of a wasp's nest. The 

 flakes are placed upon each other like the tiles of a house, 

 so that although the insects can creep into the nest beneath 

 the flakes, no water can enter. On the summit of the ne.st 



T 



