340 SPECIAL INSTINCTS. [Chap. Till 



few of these little yellow ants still clinging to the 

 fragments of their nest. This species is sometimes, 

 though rarely, made into slaves, as has been described 

 by Mr. Smith. Although so small a species, it is very 

 courageous, and I have seen it ferociously attack other 

 ants. In one instance I found to my surprise an inde- 

 pendent community of F. flava under a stone beneath 

 a nest of the slave-making F. sanguinea ; and when I 

 had accidentally disturbed both nests, the little ants 

 attacked their big neighbours with surprising courage. 

 Xow I was curious to ascertain whether F. samminea 

 could distinguish the pupae of F. fusca, which they 

 habitually make into slaves, from those of the little 

 and furious F. flava, which they rarely capture, and it 

 was evident that they did at once distinguish them ; 

 for we have seen that they eagerly and instantly seized 

 the pupae of F. fusca, whereas they were much terrified 

 when they came across the pup*, or even the earth from 

 the nest, of F. flava, and quickly ran away; but in 

 about a quarter of an hour, shortly after all the little 

 yellow ants had crawled away, they took heart and 

 carried oft' the pupae. 



One evening I visited another community of F. 

 sanguinea, and found a number of these ants returning 

 home and entering their nests, carrying the dead bodies 

 of F. fusca i -bowing that it was not a migration) and 

 numerous pupa?. I traced a long file of ants burthened 

 with booty, fur about forty yards back, to a very thick 

 clump of heath, whence I saw the last individual of F. 

 - nguinea emerge, carrying a pupa ; but I was not able 

 to find the desolated nest in the thick heath. The nest, 

 In iwever, must have been close at hand, for two or three 

 individuals of F. fusca were rushing about in the greatest 



