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ant is not uncommon. The species in the hot climates 

 are very much larger; some of these are white. The 

 home of our brown ant is well known being in small 

 round holes in the ground which they make with their 

 pincher like jaws carrying little particles of dirt one 

 after another till the nest is completed : they work with 

 great earnestness and pass in and out without any in- 

 convenience to themselves. A fight sometimes takes 

 place in which they show great bravery. Frequent- 

 ly the battle is between two individuals, while at other 

 times it is between large numbers or colonies. After 

 such battles, which are always very fierce, the ground 

 is strewn with the dead and dying, much correspond- 

 ing to the deadly contests waged between human 

 beings. The dirt which is brought from the holes is 

 deposited on the ground around the entrance, thus 

 forming a heap or mound known as ant-hills, which 

 are small. The cells of the red ant are very small, art- 

 fully constructed, and much the same in appearance as 

 those of the brown ant. 



The homes of ants are generally in groups, several 

 hills being within a small space. The black ant is 

 much larger, and is particularly fond of running the 

 trunks of trees, there being a constant traveling both 

 ways from top to bottom. Very often birds, such as 

 flickers and other woodpeckers, come and firmly fasten 

 their long toes in the bark, and then commence eating 

 the ants on both sides of them, as they pass within 

 their reach. These black ones are capable of inflicting 

 very unpleasant bites, their pinchers being very sharp. 

 The home of this species is also in the ground. They 

 mostly select a grassy place and cover a large space 



