ANT. 
449 
mal juice which Nature has enabled them to elabo- 
rate. Their method of first bending down the 
leaves we had no opportunity to observe ; but we 
saw thousands uniting all their strength to hold 
them in this position, while other busy multitudes 
were employed within, in applying this gluten that 
was to prevent their returning back. To satisfy 
ourselves that the leaves were bent and held down 
by the effort of these diminutive artificers, we dis- 
turbed them in their work ; and as soon as they 
were driven from their station, the leaves on which 
they were employed sprang up with a force much 
greater than we could have thought them able to 
conquer by any combination of their strength. But 
though we gratified our curiosity at their expense, 
the injury did not go unrevenged ; for thousands 
immediately threw themselves upon us, and gave 
us intolerable pain with their stings, especially those 
which took possession of our necks and hair, from 
whence they were not easily driven. Their sting 
was scarcely less painful than that of the bee ; but, 
except it was repeated, the pain did not last more 
than a minute. 
“ Another sort are quite black, and their opera- 
tions and manner of life are not less extraordinary. 
Their habitations are the inside of the branches of a 
tree, which they contrive to excavate by working out 
the pith almost to the extremity of the slenderest 
twig ; the tree at the same time flourishing as if it 
had no such inmate. When we first found the tree, 
we gathered some of the branches, and were scarcely 
2 G 
VOL. IT. 
