356 THE WONDER OF LIFE 



but the slaves ' determine the character of the nest, plan 

 and conduct migrations, carrjmig the Amazons from place 

 to place, the latter subject to no impulse of their own. 

 ... In America this once widely distributed species is 

 on the road to extinction '. 



The next stage, as indicated by Dr. Dublin, is that pre- 

 sented by a Ught red European ant of considerable size, 

 Strongylognathus testaceus, and an active well-organized 

 Uttle form, Tetramorium caespitum. The large slave- 

 makers have prominent sabre-Uke mandibles, but they are 

 too delicate to do injury. They are mock soldiers, there are 

 relatively few of them, and there are no workers. 



There are males and females amongst them, and so there 

 are among the ' slaves ' as weU. It is possible that this 

 kind of mixed community has arisen by an alliance of two 

 distinct colonies, and that the Teiramormm- workers some- 

 how fall imder the speU of the Strongylognathus males 

 and females, who are absolutely dependent upon them. 



The final stage of dependence of one species upon an- 

 other is represented by the European Anergates and by 

 two American forms, Epcecus pergandei and Epipheidole 

 inquilina, in which there are no workers or soldiers, but 

 simply males and females. In Anergates the males are 

 wingless and both sexes are degenerate ; they depend on 

 the charity of small groups of queenless and aged workers 

 of the Tetramorium caespitum species. This state of 

 affairs seems almost incomprehensible, for it must come to 

 an end with the death of the aged slaves. Dr. Dubhn sug- 

 gests that when this occurs a winged female of Anergates 

 must seek out another colony of Tetramorium to adopt 

 her. 



The problem of the origin of the slave-making is very 



