Ants of Equatorial Africa. 473 



not but entertain a strong suspicion that M. du Chaillu has availed 

 himself of Dr. Savage's narrative ; the incidents follow in the 

 same order of succession, and it appears to me, that so long as 

 the narrative is strictly adhered to, nothing causes us to doubt its 

 accuracy ; but when it is departed from, and we are told that ants, 

 in order to avoid the sun, excavate a tunnel four or five feet deep ; 

 and that these ants, contrary to the recorded habit of Anomma 

 rubellum and also of Anomma arcens, feed upon and devour their 

 prey on the spot; and that, in lieu of a suspended bridge of ants, 

 a tubular bridge is constructed, I begin to suspect the whole 

 account to be a plagiarism, distorted by exaggerated impos- 

 sibilities. 



The Red or little House Ant is, no doubt, a species of Myrmica. 



The Black Ant. — This lives in rotten trees, hunts singly, does 

 not attack unless disturbed ; its bite (sting ?) is very painful. 

 (Probably a species of Ponera.) 



The Red-leaf Ant. — The habits of this ant are precisely those 

 of the green ant, so well known in the tropics; it glues a number 

 of leaves together on trees and bushes, and so forms its nest. 

 This is, I suspect, a species of CEcophylla. 



The common Black Sand Ant. — Next to the Bashikouay, the 

 most to be dreaded ; it is solitary, and not numerous ; its bite 

 (sting) is not felt at the time, but is shortly succeeded by dis- 

 tressing pain, lasting many hours, as virulent as the sting of a 

 scorpion. (Probably a species of Ponera.) 



Nest-building Ant. — Builds an ingenious hanging nest, sus- 

 pended from trees, two feet long by one in diameter, constructed 

 of leaves, the tiers of which overlap so as to carry off the rain ; 

 the leaves do not touch each other, and thus keep up a fine ven- 

 tilation. (Probably a species of CEco/)^i///fl.) 



Small underground Bashikouay. — Lives in houses, does not ap- 

 pear until food is smelt, when they appear in thousands. (A spe- 

 cies of Myrmica ?) 



The large Red Ant. — The largest of the African ants ; does not 

 attack man ; is a night ant, never seen by day, avoids light ; very 

 fond of cooked meat ; it chooses its habitation in dark corners 

 and hidden closets, where light will not disturb it. (A Poneral) 



VOL. T. THIRD SERIES, PART VI. — MAY, 1863. K K 



