Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1898-07-23

Transcript. Ono of these, called sugges-
lively prctlator, prefers the phalanx forma-
ton. Ono Of its rhalGnxes on the march
over clear aid smooth ground occupies q
space of four 20 six square yards. the in
sects being dcnscly massed. While an
army Of ccitons progresses in compact or
der, skirinishcrs are thrown out, and here
and there small column leaves the main
BODY of forage. II some very rich place
be found anywhere near the line of march
for example, = mass of rotten wood
abundant in insect grubs--a halt is order
ed, and n strcng force is concentrated upon
it. The ants search every Granny and tear
in pieces all the large grubs they drag TO
light.
An army of ccitoEs as 1t moves for
ward clears the ground Of all animal mat
ter, dead or nlivc. Every living creature
that can get ont of the way does so. 1t is
especially the various tribes of wingless
insects that have cause to fear, such as
other kinds of ants, heavy bodied spiders
maggots, catcrpillars, etc. If q man max
ing his way through the tropical forest
happens to encounter n marching column
Of these ants, he is Instantly attacked.
Numbers of the ferecious insects swarm
up his legs, and wherever they find a bare
spot they attack it, each one driving its
pinchcrlike jaws into tho skin and sting
ing with its tail with all its might.
The eciton stings like bee, being
strictly business mt both ends There
is nothing fer the man tn do but run for
1t, and when he gets to place of safety
he proceeds TO pluck off the insects one by
one. Usually in the operation they are
pulled in twain, leaving their heads and
jaws sticking in the wounds These mill
tary ants never let go when once they have
grabbed anything.
DIR. II. ". Rates, in his work entitled
"a Naturalist on the River AM on, de-
| scribes an attack by n column of ecitons
upon fortrcss-that is, great mound
shaped communal dwelling Of another
| species of ants The army began its as
sault upon the works in a most systematic
manner, excavatirg "a series of mines.
| Operations were so thoroughly organized
| that some of the assailants did the dig
ging, while others carried away the grains
of earth, and Others yet brought out the
Larvae of young ants which were found in
| the chambers of the structure besicged
AS fast rs the Larvae were brought out
they were torn to pieces. their weight be-
| ing too great for u single eciton to bear
| The ccitons arc very small ants. though
I in some species the big headed soldiers
are as much as half an irch long. When
the fort had been completely looted, the
! column marched away laden with the
manglcd remains of the victims. These
were doubtless conveyed TO some conven-
| lent place to be eaten ar leisure.
/ II is NOT m no S.-r,r.,Sal tbat v-a=
no defense made by the tribe of ants thus
ruthleSsly attacked. On the contrary, the
| resistance offered was very fierce. In ant
| wars generally the greatest pugnacity and
| courage are exhibited, the contest lasting
| sometimes for days and the weaker party
ultimately succumbing from sheer exhaus-
ton and defamation. Fighting ants will
suffer themselves to be cut to pieces rather
than let go when they have once seized an
enemy.
| In Brazil there is a kind of ant that cap
lures and enslaves ants of other species.
| This is a formidable insect indeed. its
method of combat being to grasp the head
of foe in its jaws and to kill by piercing
the brain, thus paralyzing the nervous
system Owing to the efficiency of these
tactics, n comparatively small force Of the
slavepIakiDg ants will fearlessly attack
much larger armies, suffering scarcely
any loss themselves.
In tropical countries ants are extremely
numerous, and wars arr constantly in
progress. These military insects have
kingdoms which can boast populations as
numerous as any of the nations of meE.
In the Allechanies DIR. MacCook found
1900 huge nests Of forest ants together
constituting a single empire. Such q