SLAVE-MAKING ANTS. 49 



tiny workers always fought bravely, trying 

 to defend their homes. They would cling 

 to the legs and antennae of the red warrior 

 in such numbers as to entirely impede his 

 progress. 



During the summer I occasionally saw a 

 large ant, three-quarters of an inch in length, 

 of a yellowish-brown color, with the excep- 

 tion of a black head and tip of abdomen 

 black. At last, on the 14th of August, I 

 had the satisfaction of tracing one to its 

 nest, which, to my surprise, was only about 

 nine feet distant from the slave-makers 7 . 

 The hole into which it disappeared was 

 nearly an inch in diameter, and about two 

 feet from the trunk of an oak-tree. There 

 was nothing externally to indicate an ants' 

 nest. I now place a leaf containing moist- 

 ened sugar close to the opening. Soon an 

 ant comes out and sips the fluid and re- 

 turns; immediately four more come out 

 and find the sugar. These must have been 

 just within the entrance, and learned from 

 their comrade of this rare treat outside. 

 Soon eleven of these large ants are on the 

 leaf. And now a red warrior, apparently 

 wandering carelessly about, comes up and 

 looks on, and at once starts toward home. 

 He meets three comrades, touches each with 

 4 



