There are, however, several species of foraging ants, called ecitons,
which move in vast bodies through the forest in search of prey. They
are carnivorous, and attack not only insects and grubs of all sorts, but
even other ants,--assaulting their citadels and carrying off the
slaughtered inhabitants. The natives, when they meet them in the
forest, hurry out of their way, to avoid their fierce attacks. Their
communities appear to be composed, besides males and females, of two
classes of workers, one with head and jaws very much larger than the
others.
One species of these foraging ants is known as the Eciton rapax, the
larger workers among which are half an inch in length.
The two common species of ecitons are, Eciton hamata and Eciton
drepanophora, which are very similar in their habits and appearance.
They are of the most pugnacious character, and a person incautiously
getting in their midst finds himself furiously attacked. They climb up
his legs, and, holding on by their pincer-like jaws, double in their
tails, and sting with all their might. The natives, on seeing them, cry
out, "Tauoca"--the name which they give to the ecitons--and scamper off
to a distance. The only way of getting rid of them is to pluck them out
one by one; but so securely do they fasten themselves to the skin, that
their head and jaws are left sticking to it.
As they advance through the forest, the creatures on which they prey
endeavour to get out of their way; but vast numbers of maggots,
caterpillars, larvae, and ants of other species fall victims to their
ferocity. They advance in a long column live or six deep, while thinner
columns forage on either flank, till they arrive at a mass of rotten
wood abounding in insect larvae, when they surround it, and do not again
move forward till every particle of food has been carried off!
When they discover a wasp's nest, they attack the papery covering to get
at the larvae pupae and newly-hatched wasps. In spite of the rage of
the parents, who vainly keep flying about them, they carry off their
spoil in fragments; the carriers having their loads apportioned to their
size--the dwarfs taking the smaller pieces, and the stronger fellows the
heavier portions. Sometimes two ants join in carrying one piece.