358 EXPLANATORY ISDEX. 



drops into the water so silently that the river seems as if it 

 ■were made of oil. It is an excellent swimmer, keeping its 

 body submerged, and writhing its long and pliant neck in so 

 serpentine a manner that it has often been mistaken for a 

 water- snake. 



In consequence of a habit of darting its long neck and 

 pointed beak through the foliage among which it is resting, 

 it has been called the Darter. Sometimes it is known by the 

 name of Ducklar. 



Ant, Black (Ponera grandis). — It is one of the largest and 

 most venomous of the Ants, and is here given of its natural 

 size. 



The sting of this Ant is not only painful, but absolutely 

 dangerous. Mr. Brown mentions that one of his men nearly 

 lost his life from the stings of three of these terrible Ants. 



CHEAT BLACK ANT (MVNIRI). 



Indeed, so much are they dreaded, that travellers have been 

 fairly turned out of their houses by the entrance of only a 

 few Muniris, as they are called. 



Ant, Coushie {CEcodoma cep/ta^oies).— Coushies are veritable 

 plagues in tropical America. They make burrows in all 

 directions, sometimes entering houses and giving no notice of 

 their presence until their tunnel is broken, in which case, the 

 inhabitants have to vacate the premises for a time, I know 

 of an instance where the Coushies" ruined a gold mine for a 



