The most remarkable fact connected with the history of ants, is the
propensity possessed by certain species to kidnap the workers of other
species, and compel them to labor for the benefit of the community, thus
using them completely as slaves; and, as far as we yet know, the
kidnappers are red or pale-colored ants, and the slaves, like the
ill-treated natives of Africa, are of a jet black. The time for
capturing slaves extends over a period of about ten weeks, and never
commences until the male and female are about emerging from the pupa
state; and thus the ruthless marauders never interfere with the
continuation of the species. When the red ants are about to sally forth
on a marauding expedition, they send scouts to ascertain the exact
position in which a colony of negroes may be found. These scouts having
discovered the objects of their search, return to the nest and report
their success. Shortly afterward, the army of red ants marches forth,
headed by a vanguard, which is perpetually changing; the individuals
which constitute it, when they advance a little before, are sent to the
rear, and their places occupied by others. The vanguard consists of
eight or ten ants only. When they have arrived near the negro colony,
they disperse, wandering through the herbage and hunting about, as if
aware of the propinquity of the object of their search, yet ignorant of
its exact position. At last they discover the settlements, and the
foremost of the invaders, rushing impetuously to the attack, are met,
grappled with, and frequently killed by the negroes on guard. The alarm
is quickly communicated to the interior of the nest; the negroes sally
forth by thousands, and the red ants rushing to the rescue, a desperate
conflict ensues, which, however, always terminates in the defeat of the
negroes, who retire to the innermost recesses of their habitation. Now
follows the scene of pillage. The red ants, with their powerful
mandibles, tear open the sides of the ant-hills, and rush into the heart
of the citadel. In a few minutes each invader emerges, carrying in its
mouth the pupa of a worker negro, which it has obtained in spite of the
vigilance and valor of its natural guardians. The red ants return in
perfect order to their nests, bearing with them their living burdens. On
reaching the nest the pupa appears to be treated precisely as their own;
and the workers, when they emerge, perform the various duties of the
community with the greatest energy and apparent good-will. They repair
the nest, excavate passages, collect food, feed the larvæ, take the pupa
into the sunshine, and perform every office which the welfare of the
colony seems to require. They conduct themselves entirely as if
fulfilling their original destination.
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