Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1882-02-16


The sand hornet Is the greatest vii
lian that flies on ins ct wings, and he
is built for professional murderer.
He carries two keen c;metars besides
deadly poisoned poaiard. and is
armed throughout with an invulnera-
BILE coat Of mail. He has things all
his own way; he lives life Of tyran-
nv and feeds on blood. There are
few birds that / know of that care 10
swallow such red-hot rnorsel. It il
90 very hot that even the hatcher bird
does not hanker after hin. The toad
wliI nNt touch liza. aaemimR "a knom
BY instinct what sort OF chain Tighten
ing he contains. Among insects this
hornet is the harpy eagle, and nearly
all of them are at his mercy. Even
the cicada. or drumming harvest-fly,
an insect often larger and heavier than
himself, is his very common victim.
Considering these characteristics, it
was Of special interest to witness such
an incident as | have here pictured.
where one Of these tyrants was actual
ly captured and overpowered by the
strategy of three black ants.
had left the meadow, and was as
cending a spur of the mountain by the
edge of pine wood, when suddenly
| spied the hornet in question at nv
feet. Heimmediately took wing. and as
he few on ahead of me / observed long
pendant object dangling from his BODY
The incumbrance proved too great an
obstacle for continuous flight. A rod
or so in advance of me, | overlook him.
and on close inspection discovered
plucky black ant clutching tightly to
the hind-foot of his captive, while
with its two hind-legs it clung des-
perately to long cluster of pine nee
dies which it carried as dead weight.
No sooner did the hornet touch the
ground than the ant would tug and
yell for help. There were certainly
evidences to warrant such a belief.
for a second ant Immediately appeared
upon the scene, emerging hurriedly
from a neighboring thicket of pine
tree forest moss. He was too late,
however, for the hornet again sought
escape by fight. But this attempt
was even more futile than the former.
for that plucky assailant had now
laid hold Of another impediment, and
this time not only the long pine nee
dies, but small branched stick also
went swinging through the air. Only
yard or 20 was covered in this fight !;
and as the ana still yelled for re-en-
foreements, its companion again ap-
peared, and rushed upon the common
foe with such furious zeal that |
felt like patting him on the back.
The whole significance of the scene he
had taken in at glance. and in an
instant he had taken a vise-like grip
upon the hind-leg. Now came the
final tug of war. The hornet tried to
rise, but his second passenger was
too much for him; he could only
buzz along the ground, dragging his
load after him, while his new assail-
ant clutched desperately at everything
in its reach, now q dried leaf, now a
tiny stone, and even overturninp an
acorn in its grasp. Finally, . small
rough stick the size Of match was
secured, and this proved the "last
straw" In vain were the struggles
to escape. The hornet could do no
more than lift his body from the
ground. He rolled and kicked and
tumbled, but to no purpose, except
to make it lively for his captors; and
the thrusts of that lively dagger was
wasted on the desert air, for wheth-
er or no those ants knew his search
ing propensities, they certainly man
aged to keep clear Of this basy ex-
tremity.
How long this pell-mell battle
would have lasted | know not. for q
third ant now appeared, and it was
astonishing to see him; with every
movement Of the hornet, he in turn
would lay hold of third stick, and
at the same time clutch upon those
pine needles to add their impedimsnt
to the burden of his body.
Practically, the ants had won a vic
tory, but what they intended to do
with the Aoundering elephant in their
hands seemed problem. But it was
to them only question of patience.
They had now pinned their victim
securely. and held him 10 await as
sistance. Ii came. The entire neigh
bOrhoOd had been apprizsd Of the bat
tie, and in less than i've minutes the
ground swarned with an army Of re-
endorsements. They came from all
directions; they pitched upon that
hornet with terrible fesOcity, and bis
complete destruction was only a ques-
ton Of momeats.-Gibson, IN Hsrper'