66 TWO CHAPTERS OX ANTS. 



sceuded with it safely, although frequently 

 it was much larger than the ant which car- 

 ried it. 



But there was nothing for which the ants 

 seemed more eager than for the corn worm 

 (Heliothis armigwa), which feeds upon the 

 tender kernels of green corn. I sometimes 

 took several of these worms to a nest of 

 ants, and very seldom would one escape, al- 

 though it fought valiantly, and seemed too 

 intelligent to deserve such a fate. With its 

 strong jaws it would pick off the ants that 

 were clinging to its body, and throw them 

 right and left, sending them two or three 

 inches away. But lack of strength was 

 made up by perseverance and numbers, so 

 the ants were usually victorious ; even when 

 the worm succeeded in getting twenty feet 

 away from the nest, it was overpowered and 

 brought back. 



All the insects which I have observed, 

 however alert and strong, are afraid of the 

 ants, seeming at once to recognize their 

 power and dominion. A large carnivorous 

 beetle (Calasoma scrutator} happens to come 

 near a company of ants which are engaged 

 in killing a corn worm ; it stops and looks 

 on. I fully expected to see it pounce upon 

 the worm, and attempt to take it away ; but 



