Animal life in the sea and on the land . ies. 21. When about to attack the enemy, red-ants leave thenest in full force and march directly to the is not a general warfare, but each red-ant seizes uponsome black one, and makes a desperate effort to kill it. ANTS. 141 After the battle, if the red-ants are victorious, they enterthe conquered nest and cany off the larvae and pupse,which they bring up as slaves. These young slaves enterat once upon a life of toil, and make no effort to escape. 22. Degrad-ing Effects ofSlavery.—It hasbeen noticedthat this sys-tem of slaveryhas a degra
Animal life in the sea and on the land . ies. 21. When about to attack the enemy, red-ants leave thenest in full force and march directly to the is not a general warfare, but each red-ant seizes uponsome black one, and makes a desperate effort to kill it. ANTS. 141 After the battle, if the red-ants are victorious, they enterthe conquered nest and cany off the larvae and pupse,which they bring up as slaves. These young slaves enterat once upon a life of toil, and make no effort to escape. 22. Degrad-ing Effects ofSlavery.—It hasbeen noticedthat this sys-tem of slaveryhas a degrad-ing tendencyamong ants, asit is well knownto have amongmen. Some ofthe slave-mak-ing ants are soaccustomed tobeing waitedupon that theyhave lost theart of buildingand of caringfor their young,and are entire-ly dependentupon theirslaves for theseservices. They have even lost the habit of feeding them-selves, and, although surrounded by food, they will starveunless fed by others. 23. The Harvesting Ants.—The harvesting ants of Texas. Fig. 88. — Queen of Slate-making Ants (magnified). 142 ANIMAL LIFE IN THE SEA AND ON THE LAND. clear a circular space, ten or fifteen feet in diameter, aroundthe entrance to their nests. Within this space nothing isallowed to grow but ant rice —a species of grass, theseeds of which are carefully gathered by the ants. 24. The Driver-ants.—Many species of ants in hot coun-tries hunt in large packs. The driver-ants of Africa huntin this way, and render valuable service in clearing awaydecaying animal matter that might otherwise cause dis-ease. The dread of visits from these ants compels theinhabitants to keep their dwellings comparatively hunting ants are said to be blind, and go out chieflyat night. 25. Termites.—Termites, or white-ants, as they are called,do not properly belong here, as they are not true , we will study something about them. They aboundin all tropical countries, living in large communities andcommit
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectzoology, bookyear1887
