550 ECITONS. 



One species of these foraging ants is known as the Eciton 

 rapax, the larger workers among which are half an inch in 

 length. 



The two common species of ecitons are, Eciton hamata and 

 Eciton drepanophora, which are very similar in their habits 

 and appearance. 



They are of the most pugnacious character, and a person 

 incautiously getting in their midst finds himself furiously 

 attacked. They climb up his legs, and, holding on by their 

 pinccr-like jaws, double in their tails, and sting with all their 

 might. The natives, on seeing them, cry out, " Tauoca " — 

 the name wmich they give to the ecitons — and scamper off 

 to a distance. The only way of getting rid of them is to 

 pluck them out one by one ; but so securely do they fasten 

 themselves to the skin, that their head and jaws are left 

 sticking to it. 



As they advance through the forest, the creatures on which 

 they prey endeavour to get out of their way ; but vast num- 

 bers of maggots, caterpillars, larva3, and ants of other species 

 fall victims to their ferocity. They advance in a long column 

 five or six deep, while thinner columns forage on either flank, 

 till the} r arrive at a mass of rotten wood abounding in insect 

 larvae, when they surround it, and do not again move forward 

 till every particle of food has been carried off. 



When they discover a wasp's nest, they attack the papery 

 covering to get at the larvse pupa? and newly-hatched wasps, 

 in spite of the rage of the parents, who vainly keep flying 

 about them, they carry off their spoil in fragments ; the carriers 

 having their loads apportioned to their size, — the dwarfs taking 

 the smaller pieces, and the stronger fellows the heavier por- 

 tions. Sometimes two ants join in carrying one piece. 



