150 ANTS AND ANT LIFE 



sanguine ants. The slaves came out first, and were at once 

 seized by the sanguine ants and slain in great numbers. 

 But as these approached close to the Amazon nest, about a 

 dozen Amazons rushed out and flung themselves on the 

 intruders. Their small number, however, disappeared in the 

 masses of their enemies, which manifested an even more 

 menacing disposition. Now came new warriors out of the 

 nest to help, and although far fewer in number than the 

 sanguine ants, flung the assailants back to the entrance of 

 their own nest. Among them, Forel saw a single ant engaged 

 in combat with ten or twenty opponents. But this was not 

 enough ; the Amazons followed their enemies, which seemed 

 overcome by panic, right into their nest and chased out all 

 the inmates, and then began such a plundering, and such 

 numbers of pupas were brought out, that the entrance of the 

 Amazon nest began to be stopped up. About thirty Amazons 

 had fallen, most of them by the poison of their enemies, 

 while heaps of dead sanguine ants covered the ground. The 

 ravished pupae or nymphae were eaten or thrown away by the 

 slaves if they belonged to the sanguine species, while those 

 belonging to slave species were carried into the nest to be 

 brought up as leaves. Only after many days did the driven 

 away sanguine ants, which had meanwhile taken refuge in 

 the neighboring grass, venture back to their nest. 



Another time Forel saw the two slave-making species 

 meet during a marauding excursion. An Amazon army 

 was marching in rather loose order, when Forel noticed at a 

 distance of only a few decimetres a number of rvfibarbes 

 which had fled to bushes and stalks with pupae in their 

 mouths. This led him to the discovery of a rujibarbis nest, 

 which had just been plundered by the sanguine ants, on the 

 dome of which a large number of the robbers were still 

 promenading. Meanwhile the Amazon army had come up, 

 and flung the sanguine ants, which fled in every direction, 

 off the ant heap, but could find nothing left in the empty 

 nest. They thereupon angrily followed the sanguine ants, 

 which scattered and hid in the grass, no great results 

 following. One day (August 12) the inhabitants of an 

 Amazon nest were warming themselves in the sun, hanging 

 motionless and in masses from the grass-stalks sprouting 

 over their nest. A signal was suddenly given which set 

 them all in movement. Only some which were too far 



