366 HONEY-MAKING ANT OF TEXAS AND NEW MEXICO. 



as is the case with the majority of the species. The black workers (No. 3) sur- 

 round the nest as guards or sentinels, and are always in a state of great 

 activity. They form two lines of defence, moving different ways, their march 

 always being along three sides of a square, one corps moving from the 

 south-east to the south-west corner of the fortification, while the others pro- 

 ceed in the opposite direction. In most of the nests examined by Captain 

 Fleeson the direction of the nest was usually towards the north ; the east, 

 west and the northern sides being surrounded by the soldiers, while the 

 southern portion was left open and undefended. In case of any enemy 

 approaching the encampment a number of guards leave their station in the 

 line and sally forth to face the intruder, raising themselves upon their hind 

 tarsi and moving their somewhat formidable mandibles to and fro as if in 

 defiance of their foe. Spiders, wasps, beetles, and other insects are, if they 

 come too near to the hive, attacked by them in the most merciless manner, 

 and the dead body of the vanquished is speedily removed from the neigh- 

 borhood of the nest, the conquerers marching back to assume their places in 

 the line of defense ; their object in the destruction of other insects being the 

 protection of their encampment, and not the obtaining of food. While one 

 section of the black workers is thus engaged as sentinels, another and still 

 more numerous division will be found busily employed in entering the quad- 

 rangle by a diagonal line bearing north-east, and carrying in their mouths 

 flowers and fragments of aromatic leaves, which they deposit in the centre 

 of the square. On the west side of the encampment there is a hole leading 

 down to the interior of the nest, which is probably chiefly intended for the 

 introduction of air, as in case of any individuals carrying their loads into- 

 it, they immediately emerge and bear them to the common heap, as if con- 

 scious of having been guilty of an error. A smaller hole near to the south- 

 east corner of the square is the only other means by which the interior can 

 be reached, and down this aperture the flowers gathered by the black work- 

 ers are carried from the heap in the centre of the square, by a number of 

 smaller yellow workers (No. 1), who with their weaker frames and less 

 developed mouth-organs, seem adapted for the gentler offices of nurses for 

 the colony within. It is remarkable that no black ant is ever seen upon one 

 line, and no yellow one ever approaches the other's line, each keeping his 

 own separate station and following his given line of duty with a steadfastness 

 which is as wonderful as it is admirable. By removing the soil to a depth 

 of about three feet, and tracing the course of the galleries from the entrance, 

 a small excavation is reached, across which is spread in the form of a spider's 

 web, a net-work of squares spun by the insects, the squares being about one- 

 quarter inch across, and the ends of the web fastened firmly to the earth of 

 the sides of the hollow space which forms the bottom of the excavation. In 

 each one of the squares, supported by the web, sits one of the honey-making- 

 workers (No. 2), apparently in the condition of a prisoner, as it docs not 

 appear that these creatures ever quit the nest. Indeed, it would be difficult 

 for them to do so, as their abdomens are so swollen out by the honey which 



