82 TWO CHAPTERS ON ANTS. 



little suspiciously. I then returned the two 

 quarrelsome ants : they immediately walked 

 up to their unfortunate comrade, and now 

 seemed to be satisfied that she was a re- 

 spectable ant, and admitted her into the 

 community with no further challenging. 



I found a nest of large carpenter-ants 

 (Camponotus atriceps, var. esuriens, Smith) 

 which had made their home in fallen tim- 

 ber. Upon examining their work, it was 

 evident they must have strong tools to work 

 w r ith, for the numerous rooms and chambers 

 of their domicile were often made in firm, 

 hard wood. They are the largest, most vi- 

 cious species I have ever seen. I introduced 

 one of these terrible creatures into the jar 

 among the quiet, peaceful occupants. A 

 large worker major immediately closed with 

 her : it was so quickly done that I could not 

 tell which was the attacking party. They 

 rolled about a few moments in a close em- 

 brace, till they rolled out of sight through 

 the wide entrance to one of the rooms be- 

 low. There was considerable excitement 

 and increased activity among the workers, 

 who were constantly bringing to the surface 

 bits of earth which the struggling warriors 

 had loosened. In about an hour the head 

 of the carpenter was brought out, divested 



