pests remained and the ants gvadually dispersed without in 

 any way molesting the fish. 



During dry weather the ants often come into the house 

 after water, and I have found them swarming over the 

 inverted drinking-glass. On one occasion, when taking a drink 

 in the dark, I felt a gritty substance in my mouth from the 

 edge of the glass, and upon investigation in the light I found 

 that I had devoured a few dozen ants. Fortunately, they have 

 no taste, so, if we did not know that they were present, we 

 might eat them with impunity. 



It is in their relation to our pests out-of-doors that ants 

 of this species have demonstrated their great usefulness. As 

 early as 1852, Professor Heer observed that they held an 

 important economic position, for they attacked many of the 

 most destructive pests, and no insect appeared to be too large 

 for them. Even in their activities against house-flies, which 

 I have recorded (1913), they render a most valuable service. 

 For the breeding possibilities of this pest, if uncontrolled, in 

 tropical countries, would be inestimable. 



As pointed out by Dr. Perkins (1913) there are very 

 few of the native insects that can long resist this predator; 

 and the same might be said for some of our introduced species. 

 Even insects as big and powerful as our mole cricket (Gnjllo- 

 talpa africana) are destroyed. I have several times observed 

 these crickets in the clutches of the ants, on sandy soil, and 

 they appeared to be powerless to throw off their little tor- 

 mentors. In one instance I counted sixteen ants on one leg, 

 and there appeared to be as many on each of the other append- 

 ages, including the cerci. In their struggle to hold the prey, 

 the ants seized upon every bit of rubbish that came in tlu'ir 

 way, so that the cricket was soon weighted down and tired out, 

 carrying this load. He made many attempts to get into the 

 soil but the mass of ants kept their hold upon him until the 

 soldiers succeeded in puncturing the wall of his abdomen, after 

 which the struggle was brief. Cardin (1913) has reported that 

 the ants are the most dreaded enemies of a mole cricket, in 

 Cuba, and he partly attributes the scarcity of this pest, in 

 that countrv to them. 



