80 



of the rock in a vertical, and to about sixteen inches away from the surface in a horizontal 

 direction. At one point where the rock was almost entirely solid and without flaw or 

 crevice, and where it was clear that the passages were entirely the work of the ants, we 

 measured a tunnel by worming a straw down it, and found it to be ten inches in length. 

 We subsequently traced this tunnel or rock-gallery down until it communicated with a 

 chamber filled with winged ants and seeds of several kinds." He afterwards discovered a 

 second nest of the same kind. 



Though almost all ants construct their nests under ground or in decayed timber, a 

 species has been found in India, called Myrmica Kirbii, that builds its nests on the 

 branches of trees and shrubs out of a most extraordinary material, namely, cow-dung ! The 

 nests are round in shape and about the size of an ordinary foot-ball. Flakes of dry cow- 

 dung are placed upon each other like the tiles of a roof, so that although the insects can 

 creep beneath them into the nest, no water can penetrate them ; on the top of the nest 

 there is placed one very large flake that crowns the structure and protects the rest. 



4. Slave-making Ants. 



Among the many very curious and extraordinary proceedings of ants is the practice, 

 prevalent amongst some species, of making slaves of their weaker brethren. Regular 

 expeditions are made by the slave-makers, commonly called Amazon ants, for the purpose 

 of obtaining fresh supplies from the nests of the inferior species ; these captives they com- 

 pel to do all the hard labour required in their own community. This might seem incredible 

 were it not attested by numbers of independent observers in different countries, some 

 of whose accounts we may now transcribe. There are two species which are known to 

 reduce others to slavery, viz., the russet ant ( Formica rufescens ), and the red ant ( F. 

 sanguinea ) ; of the latter species there is an American variety. The best known des- 

 criptions are those made by Huber, a European observer, who devoted the greater part of 

 his life to the minute observation of the lives and actions of insects. The following 

 account translated from his works, is taken from Kirby & Spence : — 



" Their time of sallying forth is from two in the afternoon till five, but more gener- 

 ally a little before five ; the weather, however, must be fine and warm. Previously to 

 marching there is reason to think that they send out scouts to explore the vicinity ; upon 

 whose return they emerge from their subterranean city, directing their course to the 

 quarter from which the scouts came. They have various preparatory signals, such as 

 pushing each other with the mandibles or forehead, or playing with the antennae, the 

 object of which is probably to excite their martial ardour, to give the word for marching, 

 or to indicate the route they are to take. The advanced guard usually consists of eight 

 or ten ants, but no sooner do these get beyond the rest than they move back, wheeling 

 round in a semicircle, and mixing with the main body, while others succeed, to their sta- 

 tion. They have " no captain, overseer, or ruler," as Solomon observes, their army being 

 composed entirely of neuters, without a single female ; thus all in their turns take their 

 place at the head, and then, retreating towards the rear, make room for others. This is 

 the usual order of their march, and the object of it may be to communicate intelligence 

 more readily from one part of the column to another. 



'■' When winding through the grass of a meadow they have proceeded to thirty feet 

 or more from their own habitation, they disperse : and, like dogs with their noses, ex- 

 plore the ground with their antennae to detect the traces of the game they are pursuing. 

 The ne«TO formicary, the object of their search, is soon discovered ; some of the inhabi- 

 tants are usually keeping guard at the avenues, which dart upon the foremost of their 

 assailants with inconceivable fury. The alarm increasing, crowds of its swarthy inhabitants 

 rush forth from every apartment ; but ^their valour is exerted in vain, for the besiegers, 

 precipitating themselves upon them, by the ardour of their attack compel them to retreat 

 within, and seek shelter in the lowest storey ; great numbers entering with them at the 

 ^ates while others with their mandibles make a breach in the walls, through which the 

 victorious army marches into the besieged city. In a few minutes, by the same passages, 

 they as hastily evacuate it, each carrying off in its mouth a larva or pupa which it has 

 seized in spite of its unhappy guardians. On their return home with their spoil, they 



