184 



DmvER Ant.- 



-INSECTS.- 



-Dkiver Ant. 



its numbers and bite. Its permanent abode, if it may 

 be called so, Mr. Savage finds to be a shallow exca- 

 vation under the roots of trees, shelving rocks, and 

 almost any other substance that will afford a shelter. 

 From these recesses the Driver ants make their sallies 

 in cloudy days, and in the night, chiefly in the latter. 

 An exposure to the direct rays of the sun is almost 

 immediately fatal to them. Should they be detained 

 abroad till late in the morning of a sunny day by the 

 quantity of their prey, they construct arches over their 

 path, of dirt agglutinated by a fluid excreted from their 

 mouth. If they can obtain shelter in long grass, tliej' 

 dispense with the arch. When Mr. Savage was residing 

 near Cape Palmas, he was greatly annoyed by the fre- 

 quent visits and ravages of these ants. At one time 

 they literally drove out every member of the female 

 department of the school ; at another, the male depart- 

 ment ; then the inmates of his own dwelling. His 

 horse, pigs, fowl, and everything that had animal life, 

 were attacked by these formidable anuies. He says, 

 " They always pounced upon us at night, and generally 

 when our senses were reposing in sleep. Occasionally 

 we were apprised of their designs at nightfall by a few 

 snspicious individuals lurking in the vicinity in advance 

 of the main body, but mostly thej' took us b\' surprise. 

 At last their annoyance seemed to have reached the 

 highest point of our forbearance, and a resolution was 

 forthwith taken to discover their habitation, and, if 

 possible, expel them from the vicinity. Accordingly I 

 commenced cutting over the premises, and had pro- 

 ceeded as far as two-thirds the way down the mount 

 on which my dwellings stand, when, beneath a shelving 

 rock of decomposing granite, their haunt was dis- 

 covered. They had been roused by the efforts of the 

 workmen, and had come forth in incalculable numbers 

 for defence, literally blackening the surrounding grass 

 and shrubbery. Lines of ants, going and coming 

 agreeably to the rules of their order, were running in 

 opjjosite directions. Their paths were very distinct 

 and well trodden, of about an inch in width. . . . 

 Their numbers could not he computed; millions on 

 millions seemed to be there, besides thousands that 

 were going and coming with astonishing speed and 

 alacrity. In attempting their destruction, I adopted 

 the mode of the natives, wln'ch is to ignite on the spot 

 a collection of the dried leaves of a species of Corypha 

 (fan palm of this coast) about six feet in diameter, and 

 dried grass, with other combustible matter. A fire of 

 great intensit}' was thus kindled, which continued to 

 burn for a considerable time. This, I supposed, would 

 he the last of our troublesome neighbours. Two days 

 after, however, on going to the spot for the purpose of 

 examining into their domicile, I was surprised to see a 

 tree at a short distance, about eighteen inches in dia- 

 meter, to the height of four feet from the ground, with 

 the adjacent plants and earth, perfectly black with them. 

 From the lower limbs (four feet high) were festoons or 

 lines of the size of a man's thumb reaching to the 

 plants and ground below, consisting entirely of these 

 insects ; others were ascending and descending upon 

 them, thvis holding free and ready communication with 

 the lower and iqiper portions of this dense mass. One 

 of these festoons I saw in the act of formation. It was 



a good way advanced when first observed. Ant after 

 ant coming down from above, extending their long 

 limbs and opening wide their jaws, gradually lengthened 

 out the living chain till it touched the broad leaf of a 

 Canna coccinea below. It now swung to and fro 

 in the wind ; the terminal ant in the meanwhile endea- 

 vouring to attach it by his jaws and legs to the leaf. 

 Not succeeding, another ant of the same class (the very 

 largest) was seen to ascend the plant, and fixing his 

 hind legs, with the apex of his abdomen, firmly to the 

 leaf under the vibrating column, then reaching forth 

 his fore legs, and opening wide his jaws, closed in with 

 his companion from above, and thus completed the 

 most curious ladder in the world."* 



Mr. Savage assures us, tliat whenever a stream of 

 water intercepts their course in their migrations, if it 

 be not very extensive they compass it ; but if not, they 

 make a line or chain of one another, gradually extend- 

 ing themselves by numbers across, till the opposite 

 side is reached. Over this living bridge the main body 

 passes in safety. Dining the wet seasons, the Driver 

 ants are liable to be driven by the continued rains from 

 their haunts. Mr. Savage observes, that " in such an 

 emergency thej' throw themselves into a rounded 

 mass ; deposit their feebler folk, pupse, and eggs in the 

 centre ; and thus float upon the water till a place of 

 safety is reached, or the flood subsides. Even in situa- 

 tions beyond this overflow, they must be deluged in 

 their holes for days, so copious and incessant are the 

 rains at times ; and one would suppose that under 

 such circumstances vast numbers must perisli. Some 

 undoubtedly do ; but the Lord in this, as in other 

 orders of tlie animal kingdom, has pursued a system of 

 compensation beautifully illustrative of his goodness, 

 and the minuteness of his providential care over even 

 the meanest of his creatures. As he has endowed this 

 insect with a high degree of life, so he has given to it a 

 corresponding degree of tenacity, thus enabling it to exist 

 under the many imfavourable circumstances incident 

 to its habits. Feeling assured that such was the fact, 

 I commenced a series of experiments in proof of the 

 point. An individual of the largest class was sub- 

 merged to the bottom of a glass of water, where it 

 struggled for about three-fourths of an hour, then 

 apparently expired. It revived in about ten minutes 

 after it was taken out, exhibiting about as much vita- 

 lity and ferocity as before." Mr. Savage submerged 

 it three times, keeping it under water at one time for 

 six hours, and yet it revived. He gives other instances 

 of their tenacity of life. 



Mr. Savage mentions an instance of the ants killing 

 a snake four feet long. They seem to have first blinded 

 it — at least so the American missionary judged by its 

 motions. He tells that the entrance of the drivers 

 into a house is soon known by the simultaneous and 

 universal movement of rats, mice, lizards, BlcpsUlm, 

 Blattidcs, and the numerous vermin that infest their 

 dwellings. He says that " when they are fairlj' in, we 

 give up the house, and try to await with patience their 

 pleasure; thankful, indeed, if permitted to remain within 

 the narrow limits of our beds and chairs." To prevent 

 their ascending the beds, the feet are placed into a 

 * Trans. Ent. Soc, vol. v., p. 7. 



