Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-04-30
STORY OF TWO INSECTS,


III second CLUs CROMWELL
STORY OF TWO INSECTS.
They Have Omnivorous Appetites, Which
Make Them Dreaded.
The most terrible of insects are the driver
ants of West Africa" said entomolosist to
STAR writer. "They are so called because they
drive before them while on march all other
living creatures. no animal being able to with
stand them. No beast, however formidable,
dares to cross their track and they will destroy
III single night all the pigs and fowls on
farm. The huge iguana Lizards fall vic
tins to them, as do snakes and all other
reptiles. 1t is said that they begin their attack
on the snake by biting its eyes and SO binding.
the prey, which, instead of running away.
writhes helpIessly in one spot. Natives of
Africa assert that when the great python has
crushed its captive in its folds it does not de-
YOUR 1t at once, but makes a circuit of at least
a mile i'll diameter in order to see whether an
army of driver ants Is on the march in the
neigEborhood. If So it glides off and aban-
dons its prey, which will soon be eaten by the
ants.
IF an army of these ants approaches vii
IaSc the entire population Is compelled to fly.
Sometimes the people may be Obliged to take
to the water III order to save themselves. The
insects travel III the night and on cloudy DAYS
because they are quickly killed by the direct
rays OF the sun. Should the sun come out while
they are making journey they construct Il
continuous arch over their path out of
earth aSglutinated by a FLUID excreted
from their mouths. In cloudy weather
an arch for the protection of the
marching workers is constructed of the bodies
OF the larger solder ants whose widely OK
tended Jaws long legs and projecting antenne,
INTERVIEWING. form sort OF network In case
OF an alarm the arch is instantly broken and
the insects which composed it join other
soldiers on the TANKS OF the line. VINO seem to
be acting az scouts, running about fUriously in
pursuit of the enemy. The alarm over the
arch is renewed and the column proceeds as
before.
The floods which are frequent in tropical
countries would destroy the colonies of the
driver ans but for remarkable instinct
Whlcn lmpels them, as soon the water ell
croaches upon their premises, to run together
and form themselves into balls about the size
OF base bais. the smallest and weakest indi-
vlduais being i'll the middle and the big and
powerful soldiers on the outside These
balls are mu Ii lighter than water and
consequently hoat on the surface until
the Hoods retire. These insects form
iaGders III n surprisingly ingenious man.
ner. chain OF them swinging from a branch
ana catching upon another branch below.
thus forming IL ladder for the transit of their
lc!!o"s. 1t Is SAID thatthcy even cross streams
by means OF such living bridges "A chain of
them being swung from the end of a bourh
that oyerhangs the water. Ant after ant add
to the length OF the chain until the extremity
Of 1t ioats on the water and the floating part /,
continually Heightened until the free end is
swept By the stream against the opposite bank
The ant at the end o! the chain clings fast to a
STICK or stone. grasping it firmly that the
chain IS held tightly and the whole army can
pass over as upon a suspension bridge.
Tine tcrmltcs. Or white ants. so dreaded
TOR their destructive powers, are not in reality
ants at all. They are of quite a different
family, being allied to the dragon flies Each
colony is founded by single pair called the
King and queen. The rest of the population
consists OF males and females. intended to pe--
petuate the species by founding fresh colonies
ana of individuals of both sexes undersigned
sexualy. termed 'neuters.' The neutcr males
are the soldiers, having huge heads and poyer-
full jaws; the neuter females are the workers
ami very small. The soldiers are torn,id
able creatures and can bite severely. Their
duty is to defend the nest. Whenever Its walls
are broken they come swarming out and attack
the invaders.
"A tull-sized nest of African termitcs is ten
feet IN height or even more, being built of
clay as hare AS brick and having the form Of n
large cone with smaller cones grouped around
1t. The traveller is always glad to see one of
these nests, because he is nearly sure tn find
are big and of excellent flavor. Beneath each
such structure Is a labyrinth of subterraueau
galleries OF great extent. i'll the excavation OF
which most OF the material composing the
cones above ground Is obtained. When king
and queen have settled themselves to form n
colony they never move out OF the roval cell
The queen. on beginning to breed, increases IN
size 50 rapidly that she can hardly crawl. the
abdomen swelling until !. is more than two
inches IN length. She produces eggs bv thous
ands, which are carried off by the workers and
carefully tended, the GruDs hatched from them
being fed until they are transformed into the
perfect insects.
1.-The African natives regard termitcs as a
superior deilcacy for eating. and to obtain
them they make hole III the nest. sweepiur
INTO a vessel the workers which swarm out for
the purpose OF defense. But the greatest EN-
envy OF these creatures is the ant-Scar which
tears down the walls of the nests and ticks I'M
the inhabitants. The tcrmites feed uron any,
thing that is vegetable. and in countries where
they are plentiful they iHe most serious
plague. devouring everything y: house that
Is not OF metal even to the furniture. which
they hollow out until nothing but tho mere
shells OF tables. chairs and beds:eads are left
They Will even excavate the beams and other
tinbers OF dwelling SO that it will fall to
pieces. Trees are Quilted BY them, The only
way to destroy them il to lind the nest itself
and Kill the king and queen, because so long as
they survive the swarms are continually re-
cruited."