Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1884-01-31

when slight contraction OF the muscles
surrounding the crop of the former
forces out minute drops Of honey, which
gather upon the organs around the mouth
and is licked off by the hungry ants.
This is probably the only instance in
nature in which living creature is
converted into depository of food
for the use of its fellows .
PERSONAL HABITS.
'sHow do the personal habits Of ants
compare with our own9" asked the re-
porter.
sThey are much neater and cleaner
than the average human being" replied
the naturalist. ssThe whole body is
frequently and thoroughly cleansed,
duty which is attended to after eating
and sleep. In this process the ants assist
one another, which makes a general
washing up an exceedingly curious
sight to witness. The cleanser begins at
the face usually, which is licked thor
oughly by the rugose tongue; even the
mandibles or jaws are cared for, they
being held apart for convenient manipu-
lation. The attitude is meanwhile one of
intense satisfaction, resembling that of
puss when one is scratching the back Of
her head. When engaged in self-cleans-
ing, the ant uses the spar, small-toothed
comb with pointed attachment to the
tibia. By means of this the back hair
or hairs upon the back of the head, the
sides, etc., are combed out. The comb
closes upon similar but coarser-toothed
arrangement upon the tibia, and through
the two approximated combs the antennie
and legs are drawn for cleansing. The
apex of the abdomen is cleansed chiefly
by the tongue, and for this purpose some
very grotesque attitudes must be assumed,
This tidiness extends to the young, who
are continually undergoing the bath, ap-
pearing to enjoy it more than the average
child.
FUNERALS.
"Do the ants care for their deadp
questioned the reporter.
g think so,n was the reply. "Mr.
McCook has noticed certain amount of
to the dead, and some carry
their dead about for several days before
a suitable place is found in which to bury
them. The red slaye-making ants after
a battle pick out their own dead and lay
them apart from others with great care.
ANTS AT WAR.
"The ants have regular wars with
other nations that are conducted with
great skill and courage. In one battle
by Huber at Geneva the ants
moved in a body with considerable rapid
ity, and occupied a space of from eight
to ten inches in length by three or four
in breadth. In a few minutes they
quilted the road, passed thick hedge,
and entered pasture ground. They
wound along the grass without struggling,
and their column remained unbroken,
the obstacles they had
to surmount. At length they approached
a nest, inhabited by dark, ash-colored
ants, the dome of which rose above the
grass at distance of twenty feet from
the hedge. Some of its inhabi-
tants were guarding the entrance,
but, on the discovery of an approaching
army, darted forth upon the advanced
guard. The alarm spread at the same
moment IN the interior, and their COM
panions came forth in numbers from
their underground residence. The other
ants, the bulk of whose army lay only at
the distance Of two PAGES, quickened
their march to arrive at the foot of the
the whole battalion in an in
slant fell upon and overthrew the ash
colored ants, who, after short but obsti-
nate conflict, retired to the bottom of
their nest. The other ants now ascended
the hillock, collected in crowds on the
and took possession of the prin-
cipal avenues, leaving some of their com
panions to work an opening in the side
of the ant-hill with their teeth. Success
crowned their enterprise, and by their
newly-made breach the remainder of the
army entered. Their soiourn, however,
was of short duration, for in three or
four minutes they returned by the same
aperture that gave them entrance, each
bearing off in its mouth larva or pupa.
These expeditions generally start in the
afternoon, and are from one hundred to
two thousand strong.
DRIVER ANTS.
"Of all the ants" continued the
"the drivers are the most
dreaded. They march in columns COM
posed of millions, attack the largest ami
mails, enter houses, driving out every
living creature, and spreading devasta-
tation every where. In Congo, Africa,
they have even been known to kill the
sick that were left unprotected.
HOUSE DEsTRoYERs.
"The white ant, though not allied to
the ants proper, is remarkable creature
and causes much destruction. They eat
into houses without the slightest noise,
hollow out the pillars, and all at once
down it comes.
NOBILITY.
"It is, of course, known" said the
ant man in conclusion, g that these in
sects have their social grades kings,
queens, soldiers, laborers, all differing in
appearance-iust as we have and. in