Chapter VII

FIRST HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE AMAZON ANTS.

We have hitherto treated only of labouring ants, of societies composed of three sorts of individuals, of operations equally divided among the labourers, and of transient wars, without any fixed purpose, or having only for their object common defence. The Amazon Ants present us manners and habits totally different,--republics peculiarly constituted and organised,--character dissimilar,--wars regularly instituted,--in a word, a separate history; and of which no author has yet given any account.

On the 17th June, 1804, whilst walking in the environs of Geneva, between four and five in the evening, I observed close at my feet, traversing the road, a legion of Rufescent Ants.[1]

[1] For a description of this species see the Appendix.

They moved in a body with considerable rapidity, and occupied a space of from eight to ten inches in length, by three or four in breadth. In a few minutes they quitted the road, passed a thick hedge, and entered a pasture ground, where I followed them. They wound along the grass without straggling, and their column remained unbroken, notwithstanding the obstacles they had to surmount; at length they approached a nest, inhabited by dark Ash-coloured Ants, the dome of which rose above the grass, at a distance of twenty feet from the hedge. Some of its inhabitants were guarding the entrance; but, on the discovery of an approaching army, darted forth upon the advanced guard. The alarm spread at the same moment in the interior, and their companions came forth in numbers from their underground residence. The Rufescent Ants, the bulk of whose army lay only at the distance of two paces, quickened their march to arrive at the foot of the ant-hill; the whole battalion, in an instant, fell upon and overthrew the Ash-coloured Ants, who, after a short, but obstinate conflict, retired to the bottom of their nest. The Rufescent Ants now ascended the hillock, collected in crowds on the summit, and took possession of the principal avenues, leaving some of their companions to work an opening in the side of the ant-hill with their teeth. Success crowned their enterprise, and by the newly made breach the remainder of the army entered. Their sojourn was, however, of short duration, for in three or four minutes they returned by the same apertures which gave them entrance, each bearing off in its mouth a larva or a pupa; they retraced the route by which they had arrived, and proceeded one after another, without order or regularity.[2] The whole army might be readily distinguished in the grass, by the contrast afforded by the Rufescent Ants, and the white eggs and pupæ they had captured. They repassed the hedge and the road, in the place they had previously crossed it, and then directed their course through a field of ripened corn, where I experienced the regret of not being able to follow them.

[2] The tactics of these marauders vary with the enemy they have to contend with; in this instance, conscious of carrying off their booty, without further opposition from the Ash-coloured Ants, the army no longer keeps in rank, but separates into straggling parties, each hastening by a different route, to deposit their spoil in the common treasury; but, when these intrepid adventurers attack a nest of mining ants, and return successful, they are then obliged, from the known spirit and courage of the latter, to keep close order, and march in a body to the very gates of their citadel; as it not unfrequently happens, they are followed and harassed the whole way by the mining ants, who leave no exertion untried to recover their treasure.--T.

I now retraced my steps towards the scene of the recent assault, and there found a small number of Ash-coloured labourers, perched upon the stalks of plants, holding in their mouths the few larvæ they had rescued from pillage; these they shortly carried back to their former station.

This feature, so prominent in the history of Rufescent Ants, of whose real name I was then ignorant, induced me to give them the appellation of Amazon or Legionary Ants, as being most analogous to their martial character; these denominations I still retain; therefore, when I speak of Rufescent, Amazon, or Legionary Ants, it will be understood that I am treating of the same species.[3]

[3] To avoid the too frequent repetition of the same word, I shall take the liberty, when speaking of the dark Ash-coloured Ant, occasionally to use the appellation of Negro, or Negro Ant; a term not inapplicable, when we consider the dark colour of this species, and the situation it holds in the colony, of providing for and administering to, the wants, &c. of the Amazons.--T.

I returned the following morning at the same hour, by the route I had observed the Amazon army take, in the hope of acquiring some knowledge of the phenomenon of which I had been a witness, when I discovered the habitation of one of these martial hordes.

I observed on the right of the road a large ant-hill, covered with ants of that species. They formed into column, set forth in a body, and fell upon one of the habitations of the Ash-coloured Ants, in which, experiencing little or no opposition, they entered. One party immediately returned, bearing in their pincers the purloined larvæ; another party, less fortunate, quitted the scene of attack, without reaping any advantage from their expedition:--the former took the road to their own citadel; the latter marched in a body upon a second ant-hill, tenanted by the same species as the first, where they made ample booty. The whole army, now forming two divisions, hastened to the spot from which it had taken its departure. I reached the garrison a little before them; but what was my surprise to observe all around, a great number of that identical species they had gone forth to attack. I raised up a portion of the building, I still saw more; this induced me to regard it as one of the habitations that had already been pillaged by the Amazons, when my suspicions were removed by the arrival of the Amazon legion at the entrance, charged with the trophies of victory. Its return excited no alarm among the Negro Ants, who, whilst the Legionaries were descending with their booty, so far from offering opposition, were even seen to approach these warriors, caress them with their antennæ, offer them nourishment, as is the custom with those of their own species, take up some of the larvæ, and carry them into the nest. The Amazons remained within the rest of the day: the Negro Ants kept their station some time without, but retired before night.

No enigma ever raised my curiosity so high as this singular discovery; and I had the satisfaction of finding near my own residence several ant-hills of the same kind, not a little astonished at being the first to notice their existence.

Conscious of the great advantage of having them so near me, I determined to devote the whole of my time to them. As I was extremely impatient to ascertain the nature of the connexion between these different species, I opened one of their dwellings, and there observed a great number of Rufescent mingled with Ash-coloured Ants, which gave me some general idea upon this head. The latter were busily engaged in re-establishing the several avenues, hollowing out galleries, and carrying below the exposed larvæ and pupæ. The Amazons, on the contrary, passed over the larvæ, &c. with indifference, not once deigning to lift them, or take any part in the labours going forward; they wandered for some time over the surface, and then retired to the bottom of their citadel.

But at five in the evening, the scene undergoes a complete and almost immediate change. The Amazons leave their retreat, become restless, and assemble on the outside. They are all in motion; none, however, move but in a curved line, and in such a way, as quickly to return to the outer wall of their garrison; their number increases each moment, they describe greater circles, a signal is communicated, they pass from one to the other, striking as they proceed with their antennæ and forehead the breast of their companions; these, in their turn, approach those advancing, and communicate the same signal; it is that of departure; the result satisfactorily proves it. We see those receiving the intimation, put themselves at the moment in march, and join the rest of the troop. The column becomes organised, advances in a straight line, passes over the turf, and removes to a considerable distance. Not a single Amazon is any longer to be seen near the garrison. The advanced guard sometimes halts until the rear-guard comes up, and then diverge to the right and left without advancing; the army forms anew, and again moves forward with rapidity. There is no commander-in-chief, every ant is in turn first, each seeking to be foremost; some, however, move in a different direction, pass from the front to the rear, then retrace their steps and follow the general movement. There are always a small number constantly returning to the rear, and it is probably in this way the movement of the whole army is governed.

At a little more than thirty feet from their own residence, they stop and explore the ground with their antennæ, much in the same way as dogs when searching for game. They soon find a subterranean Negro ant-hill, to the bottom of which its inhabitants have retired. The Legionary Ants, unopposed, penetrate an open gallery; the whole army enter, seize upon the pupæ, and return through the several apertures, immediately taking the road to their garrison. It is now no longer an army disposed in column, it is an undisciplined horde. The Amazons run after each other with rapidity, and the last comers from the stormed city are followed by some few of its inhabitants, who endeavour to wrest from them their prize; an effort in which it but rarely happens they are successful.

I return to the garrison to be once more a witness of the reception given to these plunderers by the Ash-coloured Ants, with whom they dwell. I observe a considerable number of pupæ heaped up before the door; each Amazon on its arrival deposits its burthen, and then returns to the invaded ant-hill;--their auxiliaries suspend their labours in masonry, and come forward to the pupæ, which they carry one by one into the interior. The Negroes are also frequently seen to unload the Amazons, after having amicably touched them with their antennæ, when the latter yield to them, without opposition, the pupæ they have purloined.

Let us still follow this army of plunderers on their return a second time, to the attack of the nearly ruined ant-hill. Its inhabitants, however, have had time to recover themselves, and to station a strong guard at each of the entrances. The Legionaries, who are in small numbers at first, take flight as soon as they perceive the Negroes in a state of defence; they return to the main body of the army, and advance and retreat several times successively, until they are in sufficient force; they then throw themselves _en masse_ upon one of the galleries, driving away and putting in confusion its inhabitants. The whole army now enter the subterranean city, and seize upon the larvæ, which they carry off in great numbers, and in great haste. They never take any of the parent ants prisoners, their sole object being the possession of their offspring. Upon their return to the garrison, the most friendly reception is still given to the Amazons, who--their associates having arranged the produce of their first harvest,--either deposit their load at the entrance, or consign it to those in attendance, who hasten to place it in the interior.

Could one for a moment suppose, that these intrepid warriors would return a third time to the pillage? This time, however, they had to undertake a siege in regular form, for the individuals, from whom they had twice successively taken larvæ and pupæ, had lost no time in throwing up trenches, barricading the several entrances, and reinforcing the guard of the interior, as if fully aware of this third attack from their adversaries. They had, moreover, brought together all the little pieces of wood and earth within reach, with which they had blocked up the passage to their habitation, in which they were posted in force. The Legionaries at first hesitated to approach, but rambled about or returned to the rear, until sufficiently reinforced; they then, upon a given signal, rushed forward _en masse_ with great impetuosity, and began removing with their teeth and feet, the many obstacles that opposed their progress. Having succeeded, they entered the ant-hill by hundreds, notwithstanding the resistance of its inhabitants, and carried off their prize to the garrison. But this time, in lieu of remitting to their associates their plunder, they carried it into the under-ground chambers themselves, where they remained the rest of the day.

On the 23d June, at half-past three, when the sun was extremely powerful, a few of the Amazons quitted their abode, and after taking a survey of the environs, re-entered; a moment after, others, but in trifling number, came to take the air at the entrance of one of the galleries, where they seemed to await the favourable moment for commencing their expedition. At a quarter before five they sallied forth in crowds, and appeared extremely restless; some advanced into the meadow, whilst others remained on the ant-hill; but a few, returning to the rear, by the effect of that tactic we have elsewhere noticed, arrived at the garrison and gave the signal for departure, by approaching in turn, and striking with their antennæ all their compatriots, who immediately put themselves in march to join the army. This warlike phalanx took a direction different from that of the preceding evening, but soon stopped in their course, and separated in search of some ant-hill, but experiencing no success, they again formed and continued their march, until they alighted upon one hidden in the grass, at about fifty paces from their own dwelling. The Ash-coloured Ants, frightened at the unexpected arrival and number of the Amazons, took flight, leaving the latter to make ample booty of larvæ and pupæ, which they carried off to their own abode.

Another army infinitely more numerous than the first, now issued from the garrison, and took a different direction in their march, which was somewhat tedious; they passed untouched several ant-hills inhabited by a different species, but finding, at length, a nest of Ash-coloured Ants, they attacked it with their usual fury, and returned laden with pupæ and larvæ. I was a witness every day during the summer to these invasions, of which I shall have frequent occasion still to speak.