340 SPECIAL INSTINCTS, [Chap. V ILL 



parcel of the pupsE of another species, F. flava, with a 

 few of these little yellow ants still clinging to the frag- 

 ments 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 cour- 

 ageous, and I have seen it ferociously attack other ants. 

 In one instance I found to my surprise an independent 

 community of P. flava under a stone beneath a nest of 

 the slave-making P. sanguinea; and when I had acci- 

 dentally disturbed both nests, the little ants attacked 

 their big neighbours with surprising courage. Now I 

 was curious to ascertain whether P. sanguinea could dis- 

 tinguish the pupee of P. fusca, which they habitually 

 make into slaves, from those of the little and furious 

 P. 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 

 P. fusca, whereas they were much terrified when they 

 came across the pupae, 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 off the 

 pupae. 



One evening I visited another community of P. 

 sanguinea, and found a number of these ants returning 

 home and entering their nests, carrying the dead bodies 

 of P. fusca (showing that it was not a migration) and 

 numerous pups. I traced a long file of ants burthened 

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

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

 sanguinea emerge, carrying a pupa; but I was not able 

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

 however, must have been close at hand, for two or three 



