ANTS 217 



often eaten completely through by them, and the 

 sole means of securing clothing in a country where 

 they abound consists in keeping it in air-tight, steel 

 uniform cases, or tin trunks. The White Ant 

 presents itself in its most serious aspect, however, 

 when it directs its efficient destructive energies 

 against the timbers in the roof of your dwelling. 

 These it will hollow out, leaving only the shell 

 remaining, and often a cursory glance at this would 

 not reveal the havoc wrought, or hint at the 

 imminence of the coming catastrophe. They dislike 

 light, and as they make their way up the wall or 

 across the flooring, hide themselves under a tiny 

 tunnel of red earth. They dislike sandy localities, 

 doubtless finding the soil too friable to unite and 

 form the covering so indispensable to their move- 

 ments. The only remedy I know of is a liberal 

 application of paraffin ; but should the insects have 

 fairly established themselves, your efforts to ex- 

 terminate them will be fruitless until you succeed 

 in discovering the queen ant. A terrible large red 

 variety builds its nest in a shrub. A singular 

 structure this is, about the size of a small football, 

 and made of large leaves stuck together with some 

 mysterious, glutinous compound, of which the 

 seething masses of ants inside alone know the 

 secret. The bite of this frightful creature is terribly 

 painful. Another variety called the Ponera is often 

 avenged after death by the disgusting smell with 

 which it surrounds you when you crush it. Then 

 come the black " Warrior " ants, which move from 

 place to place in a thick, black mass, like a long, 

 living cable. The numbers which take part in 



