82 mOPICAL NATURE, AND OTHER ESSAYS. 



conspicuous, they must be very much exposed to the 

 attacks of insectivorous birds and other creatures ; and, 

 having no sting or powerful jaws with which to defend 

 themselves, they would be liable to extermination with- 

 out some special protection. This protection they no 

 doubt obtain by their hard smooth bodies, and by the 

 curious hooks, spines, points and bristles with which 

 they are armed, which must render them unpalatable 

 morsels, very liable to stick in the jaws or throats of 

 their captors. 



A curious and very common species in the Malay 

 Islands is the green ant {(Ecophylla smaragdina), a 

 rather large, long-legged, active, and intelligent-looking 

 creature, which lives in large nests formed by glueing 

 together the edges of leaves, especially of Zingiberaceous 

 plants. When the nest is touched a number of the ants 

 rush out, apparently in a great rage, stand erect, and 

 make a loud rattling noise by tapping against the leaves. 

 This no doubt frightens away many enemies, and is 

 their only protection ; for though they attempt to bite, 

 their jaws are blunt and feeble, and they do not cause 

 any pain. 



Coming now to the stinging groups, we have first a 

 number of solitary ants of the great genus Odontomachus, 

 which are seen wandering about the forest, and are con- 

 spicuous by their enormously long and slender hooked 

 jaws. These are not powerful, but serve admirably to 

 hold on by while they sting, which they do pretty 

 severely. The Poneridse are another group of large- 

 sized ants which sting acutely. They are very varied in 

 species but are not abundant individually. The Ponera 

 clavata of Guiana, is one of the worst stinging ants 



