Travels in Brazil

by Henry Koster

I HAVE said that the lands of the Engenho Velho were much infested by the red ants; but indeed scarcely any part of the island of Itamaraca is free from these most noxious insects. They are of a dusky red colour, and vary from one quarter of an inch to one inch in length. Their bite is painful, and they will sometimes fix themselves so firmly with their antennæ, as to leave the points of them in the wound which they have made. Their food is entirely vegetable. I found them extremely troublesome during the continuance of the rains. They would often make their way between the bricks of the floor of my house, and pick up any particles of flour or any grains of maize which might chance to be strewed upon it. On one occasion, two large bags of maize of equal size were placed in the room at night; but in the morning one of them was considerably lower than the other; for this I could not account until, on a nearer examination, I saw one of the red ants coming out of a small hole which there was at one side of the bag, with its load upon its back, and soon another followed, and so forth. I now accidentally put my hand upon the bag, and it fell still lower; so that an arch must have been formed within, either by a very singular chance, or by the management of these most extraordinary insects.

Upon another evening, they made their appearance in such great numbers as to darken the floor of the corner of the room from which they proceeded. I sent for some dried leaves of the coco-tree, and only got rid of the enemy by making in the house a bonfire upon the spot of which they had taken possession. I had some pomegranate trees at the back of the cottage, which I was preserving with great care; and I had one evening particularly admired the beauty of one of these plants, which was covered with red blossoms. In the morning the flowers were still upon the tree, but scarcely any leaves remained; these were upon the ground, and some of the destroyers were cutting off the few which still were left, whilst their companions were occupied below in conveying away the spoil. I could not avoid watching them for some minutes, and admiring their ingenuity and systematic manner of going to work; but soon I vowed vengeance upon these enemies, and immediately commenced operations. There was a steep bank a little below the cottage, which had every appearance of harbouring these insects, for the red earth which lies at some distance below the surface of the ground, was thrown up all around it. I placed four negroes below the bank, to cut it away perpendicularly. They had not worked long before the war commenced, for a war it was when some of the nests were laid open. The ants came out in great numbers, but torches of dried coco leaves were ready and a large fire, and with these weapons we had much the advantage of them. The bank contained a vast number of circular holes of about six inches diameter, which were placed at unequal distances from each other, and many of them were without subterraneous communications from one to the other. Every one had a passage to the surface of the ground, and some of them had more than one leading upwards. These nests or holes contained a substance of a grey colour, which bore the appearance of thick cobwebs pressed closely together; and on being squeezed in the hand it had a liquid feel, that is, the skin was moistened by it. When put into water it swam upon the top. We had placed a large brass basin upon the fire, and filled it with water for the purpose of putting this substance into it. In some of the circular holes there were no ants, but others were crowded with them. Great numbers were destroyed; and the cottage and its neighbourhood enjoyed for a short time some respite, but another horde from a different quarter discovered that the place was untenanted, and we were again persecuted.

There is another method of destroying the ants, which has only of late years been introduced; but this is more particularly adapted to their destruction when they are undermining a building. A mixture of brimstone, and of any other substances which create a considerable degree of smoke, is burnt at the entrance of the ant-hill, a hole being in the first place dug around it, that the combustible matter may be laid rather lower than the surface of the ground immediately surrounding. Then a large pair of bellows is made use of to blow the smoke down the aperture; now it is necessary to observe, that all the crevices by which the smoke is again ejected, should be stopped up. If the operation is conducted with due attention it has been found successful. It is likewise a means of discovering the several communications of the same ant-hill, and thus being able with less uncertainty to judge of the situation of the chief pot (panella) or nest.

The red ant is particularly destructive to the mandioc plant, and in many parts it is almost impossible to preserve the plantations of it from them[117]. I recollect having planted a considerable quantity of it in some low marshy ground, upon hillocks, and the land was so moist that water remained in the furrows round the bottom of each hillock, after the manner of dykes. On this account, I thought it superfluous to desire that any precautions should be taken against the ants; however, I rode one afternoon to see the field, and was surprised to find that the plants upon some of the hillocks were deprived of their leaves. I knew by whom this must have been done, but could not for some minutes discover how the insects had been able to reach the mandioc. I soon saw an ant-track and a few of the ants going along it; I followed the track, and observed that they had formed a bridge of leaves across one of the furrows, upon which they were going over. Some of them crossed to and from the hillock, as I stood watching them.

There were several other species of ants of less bulk, which were occasionally seen. The small red ant and the small black ant, both of which feed on animal substances, would sometimes crowd around a fly, a spider, a small lizard, or any other small animal or insect which might lie dead upon the floor; and by degrees, a number sufficient to move their prey would assemble, and they would convey it slowly along, even up a white-washed wall, if the load was not heavier than usual. It was a most unpleasant sight to watch these insects clinging to their burthen on all sides of it, and so closely packed as to appear to be one shapeless mass of moving substance. All species of ants have a disagreeable smell; but the carnivorous small red ant is that which is the most offensive. There is also another kind of small black ant; it makes its nest in trees, and not near to and among the timbers of houses. Though the size of this ant is very diminutive, being smaller than any other species, it is a dreadful enemy to the large red ant, owing to the numbers and determined courage of the black ant. These small insects are sought after, and encouraged to build upon orange and other fruit trees, which are liable to destruction from the large red ant; and they effectually defend their appointed posts from the dreaded invaders, if time has been given for their numbers to be equal to the task. I have sometimes seen the entrance to the nest of the red ants surrounded by the dead of both parties; but notwithstanding that the number of black ants which are engaged is always much greater than that of the red ant, still I observed that the slain of the latter always out-numbered the former.[118]

The house in which I resided at Jaguaribe, had been in former times a barn in which the sugar was put into chests for exportation; and I had heard from the neighbours that the ants about it were numerous; and particularly a small black ant called the formiga douda, or foolish ant, owing to its not appearing to have any track, but to wander about the spot upon which the horde has appeared, running fast to and fro, and irregularly. These are distinguished from the black ant of the orange trees by this name of douda. One evening I had been asleep in my hammock, and was not a little surprised on waking, to see that part of the wall opposite to me, which was white-washed, appeared to be covered with a piece of black cloth; I got up, and approached it with the lamp in my hand. I soon saw what it was, and could not help shuddering, for the sight, I may say, was horrible; myriads of these ants were marching along the wall, and their numbers were rapidly increasing. I had scarcely recovered from the first surprise, when on looking round, I saw that the other side of the room was in the same state; I left the place quickly, and calling to some of the negroes, desired them to bring coco and palm-leaves in abundance; this was done, and operations being actively set on foot against them by applying lighted leaves to the walls, we soon got rid of the major part of the ants; however many of them escaped by retreating into the numerous cracks in the walls. The next morning the walls were again white-washed, and as many of the crevices filled up as possible. On another occasion, I was awakened in bed in the middle of the night, by a sensation in my feet as if they had been pricked gently by many pins. I jumped up, and as there was a light in the room, I soon perceived what had caused the uneasy sensations; several of these black ants were running about my legs, and upon the bed and floor they were every moment becoming more and more numerous. I escaped, and as soon as the bed cloaths were removed the scene of burning the host of enemies was re-acted.

There yet exists another description of ants, called the tioca; these are black, and on the whole are even larger than the destructive red ant; but I never saw the tioca in great numbers; and when I have observed them, it has been near to where sugar is kept, running to and fro without any settled path and seemingly without any plan of operations. Their bite is still more painful than that of the red ant.

The ants were not my only persecutors at Itamaraca, for these were assisted by the copim, (termes arborum), who build their enormous nests, called in Brazil panellas (pots) among the rafters of houses, which they destroy in the course of time; and likewise they form their settlements upon trees. They oftentimes made their covered ways along the white-washed walls of my house, or up the door posts; but I took every precaution against them, which was more particularly necessary in this instance, as my dwelling was not built of the best kinds of timber. I was advised to besmear the places in which they persisted in attempting to build with treacle, and I found that this was successful in making them alter their proceedings. It is well known in that country by all those persons who have paid any attention to the subject, that there are certain kinds of timber which are more liable to be attacked by these insects than others. However, a person who was about to build a house, chose to think that the distinction which the carpenters made in the several kinds of timber which they recommended him to obtain, either proceeded from some sinister views in the men, or from prejudices which they had imbibed. Therefore, contrary to the advice of his workmen and of his friends, he purchased any kinds of timber which were presented to him for sale, not attending to the quality but to the price. The house was built, and he had already either removed to it or was upon the point of so doing, when it was discovered that the copim had attacked some of the principal timbers; and at last it was judged expedient to pull down a considerable part of the building, without which the whole would have fallen a sacrifice to the insects. A solution of the substance of which the nest of the copim is formed, is used as an injection by the peasants in aguish disorders.[119]

I have not yet mentioned all the persecutors; for besides those which have been here named, and the famous chiguas, of which I have elsewhere spoken, there are the moribondos, a black insect, resembling somewhat the large red and the tioca ant in shape; the moribondo is supplied with wings, and has a most painful sting in the tail. It forms its nest upon the trunks and branches of trees; and in clearing lands, the negroes always proceed with much care, that they may not be taken unawares by these insects; for on a nest being disturbed, they fly out in great numbers; notwithstanding every precaution, this will occasionally happen; and I have known a negro to be unable to work for several days after he has been stung by them. The parts which are affected swell and become inflamed, and the sufferer experiences for a day or two the alternate sensations of violent cold and burning heat, similar to the symptoms of aguish disorders. When the negroes discover the nest without disturbing its inhabitants, dried palm leaves are lighted, and the nest is destroyed by fire. The insects are not often all killed, but those which escape appear to be stupified by the fire and smoke, and do not leave the nest. I have handled them when they have been in this state, for they become harmless; however, after a short time, their activity returns. There are three species of moribondo; the black, of which I have treated; the white, which are so called, although they are only partially white; and the moribondo formiga, which are distinguished from the black moribondo, in bearing a still greater resemblance to the large black ant.

The bats also failed not here to annoy me, for they persecuted my horses. They fasten upon the ears of the beasts, or upon their backs, if there is any spot from which the skin has been rubbed. I have in travelling sometimes been made particularly uneasy at their attacks upon the horses; for unless we had some animals above the requisite complement, it was necessary to load them with the wound open. The skin of an owl is often hung up in a stable for the purpose of scaring the bats.