638 
THE STUD Y OF INSECTS . 
large article of food, too heavy for it to carry, it goes for 
aid, and the first fellow it meets it pats with its antennae, 
and the two start off together for the booty. If a nest is 
attacked the workers orsoldiers rush around and stroke each 
other with their antennae, and thus evidently give warning 
and plan a battle for protection. In case an ant finds a 
comrade in distress it shows great solicitude and activity in 
giving relief. Yet there are some species that, like the 
Spartans, kill off the feeble and old, as useless to the colony. 
When a portion of a colony is removed and kept imprisoned 
for a time, and then returned, there is great rejoicing on 
both sides. Gould says they have a way of standing on 
their hind legs and prancing around under such circum¬ 
stances, as well as when they enter the cell of their queen, 
that indicates great joy. Sometimes they get to be very 
hilarious and wrestle with each other, and carry each other 
around as if it were a part of a game that they found amus¬ 
ing—a sort of formic football. 
But it is in their wars that the ants show that they are 
trained athletes. They do most of their fighting with their 
jaws, but they also eject upon each other an acrid fluid called 
formic acid. They are very courageous, and will attack a 
man as readily as a grasshopper. They seem in a great rage 
when they fight, and are fierce beyond belief. After a 
battle the field is strewn with legs, heads, and bodies. They 
usually wage war against other species, but sometimes two 
colonies of the same species will go to war if their nests 
happen to encroach upon each other. When an army is 
ready to go forth for conquest, scouts are sent out and the 
army waits till they return before it starts. Very often 
these armies go forth to capture slaves, for there are several 
species of ants that are slaveholders, and by strange coin¬ 
cidence the slaves are dark colored, while the masters are 
light. When a depredating army sets forth it proceeds to 
the black colony, which defends itself fiercely ; if the be¬ 
sieged blacks are overcome, the conquerors carry off all the 
