THE DRIVER ANT, 281 



before me, and curious beings they are. The largest are black, 

 with a slight tinge of red, and have an enormous head, almost 

 equalling one-third of the entire length. It is deep and wide 

 as well as long, as indeed is necessary for the attachment of the 

 muscles which move the enormous jaws. These weapons are 

 sharply curved, and when closed, they cross each other, so that 

 when the insect has fairly fixed itself, its hold cannot be loosened 

 unless the jaws are opened. It is useless, therefore, to kill the 

 ant, for its head will retain its grasp in death as well as in 

 life. Beside the sharp point of the mandibles, they are further 

 armed with a central tooth, which is so formed that when the 

 mandibles are quite closed, and the points crossed to the utmost, 

 the tips of the central teeth meet and form another means of 

 grasping. 



There is no vestige of external eyes, and even the half-inch 

 power of the microscope fails to show the slightest indication of 

 visual organs. As, however, the horny coat of the head is suf- 

 ficiently translucent to permit the articulation of the jaws to be 

 seen through it, when a very powerful light is thrown upon the 

 head, and the eyes of the observer are well sheltered, it is possible 

 that the insect may have some sense of sight, and at all events 

 will be able to distinguish light from darkness. 



The limbs are of a paier red than the body, and although they 

 are slender and delicate, their grasping power is very great. Two 

 of my specimens had grasped each other's limbs with such force 

 that they could not be separated without damaging the insect, 

 and it was not until the rigid joints were softened with moisture, 

 and then with the aid of a magnifier, that I succeeded in dis- 

 engaging the insects. 



The smaller specimens are not so black as the larger, nor are 

 their jaws so proportionately large, but they are still formidable 

 insects, if not from their individual size, yet from their collective 

 numbers and their reckless courage, which urges them to attack 

 anything that opposes them. Fire will frighten almost any 

 creature, but it has no terrors for the Driver Ant, which will dash 

 at a glowing coal, fix its jaws in the burning mass, and straight- 

 way shrivel up in the heat. 



