ANTS
No one can pass through the upper or lower forests without noticing the much more prominent nests made in the trees by another insect, a small species of black ant. These nests are often as large as a football, and are apparently made of cow-dung, or earthy and vegetable matter, forming a coarse papery substance; they are peopled by large numbers of ants, and are dark brown in colour. If one is procured—not an easy matter, for the little inhabitants rush out and attack the intruder, and dig their jaws into one’s flesh in a way to make one jump—it will be seen, on cutting open the nest vertically, that there is a series of thin floors about half-an-inch apart and supported by pillars. The ants run about frantically, their chief care being to carry the white eggs and pupæ to a place of safety. But it will be observed that in the nest there are to be seen a number of very small but handsome beetles, perhaps in the proportion of one to a hundred of the ants. What purpose do these entirely different insects serve in the economy of ant life? It appears that this is a fact observed in the nests of many other kinds of ants, for the Rev. J. G. Wood, in his charming book, “Homes without Hands,” says that above thirty species of beetle are known as inhabiting ants’ nests. But he can throw no light upon the purpose served by the presence of the beetles. Besides these large and conspicuous nests, containing probably thousands of ants, other nests, of all sizes, from about that of a nut to an orange and upwards, may be seen: the hamlets, villages, and small towns of the ant world, while the large nests are the great cities of their commonwealth. The ants inhabiting these dwellings appear to be all of one species, and about three-sixteenths of an inch in length. What can these little creatures live upon?—for they can hardly descend for it to the ground, from heights of twenty, thirty, and even fifty or sixty, feet.
A very different kind of ants’ nest is seen in the more open and sunny forest paths (and also in the bare interior country). These have the form of a low circular mound, from eighteen inches or more in diameter, and perhaps eight to ten inches high, and have a large opening at the top—a miniature “crater.” This mound consists of the fine grains of earth and sand brought up and thrown out by the little workers in excavating their subterraneous dwelling. These ants are larger insects than the arboreal species; they are about three-eighths of an inch long, and seem to exist in great numbers in their homes, the entrance being like a crowded street, with passengers going to and fro. They may be met with all round their nests, often at a considerable distance from them, frequently tugging along pieces of chewed sugar-cane, or portions of dead insects, enormous in size compared with themselves. The ants are the scavengers of the country; no beetle, or worm, or grub, or animal matter of any kind, can be many minutes on the ground before it is detected by some ant, which communicates the fact forthwith to its fellows, and they immediately fall on the spoil, cut it in pieces and convey it to their stronghold. It is astonishing to see the heavy loads that two or three ants will stagger along with for the common weal. Truly, although they are a small folk, they are “exceeding wise.”
Another species of ant, which does not appear to construct a nest, but inhabits the crevices and under the bark of trees, is rather conspicuous from a large tuft or cushion of pale brown velvet-like hairs on the upper side of the abdomen, and a smaller one on the thorax. Its eggs and pupæ are carefully hidden away under pieces of the bark which have become partly detached.
On the top of the Ambàtovòry rock I found another and smaller species of ant, about an eighth of an inch long. This ant inhabits the dried flower-stalk of the vàhona, a small aloe growing plentifully on the shallow soil close to rocks. On breaking in two one of these stalks, the ants and a number of pupæ fell out, long white cases, in which the dark body of the immature insect could be seen. The little creatures seemed greatly relieved to be able to gather up these precious pupæ, and they soon collected them all, and brought them again into their home. On examining the stalk I could see no entrance except a minute hole, like a pinprick, at the top, just below where the head of flowers had blossomed. It seems probable that the ants find food in the pithy interior of these leaf-stalks.
In passing through the bush or the secondary forest, one frequently sees the leaves of certain bushes withered and folded up together. On opening one of such nests, it proves to be the home of a species of beetle, a very handsome insect, about an inch long, with a long slender thorax, and of a beautiful metallic-purple colour. Enclosed in portions of the leaf are small green caterpillars, and in others are chrysalides. A much smaller beetle is also found in many of these nests. The edges of the leaves appear as if sewn together at different places with fine silk.
Although butterflies are scarce in these woods in the cold season, caterpillars are numerous. Those making a large silken bag have already been noticed; but there are others which appear to be just now (in August) in a state of torpor. Here, for instance, is a cluster of a dozen or so of brown caterpillars, all clinging closely together around one another on the top of a small twig. They seem perfectly motionless. Are they hibernating? Here again is a collection of beautiful little caterpillars, about an inch long, of lovely pale green and bluish-green colour, with markings of orange dots along the sides, and four tufts of yellow hairs on head and tail. These are lying side by side, half-a-dozen together on a leaf, and also appear perfectly torpid, for they do not move for several days together. Here again, on a leaf, are about thirty small caterpillars, about five-eighths of an inch long. These are seen to be striped with dark lines, like black velvet, with delicate markings and spots of bright yellow. These insects, like those just mentioned, are motionless and crowded together, as if for warmth.
WALKS FULL OF INTEREST
Walking slowly along, one notices a peculiar marking on a twig; this on close inspection is seen to be an assemblage of the eggs of some butterfly or moth, about a hundred of them, arranged in four or five regular rows, pretty minute globes, light greyish-brown in colour, with a minute black spot on the top, and hardly one-sixteenth of an inch in diameter. In bushes and small trees, somewhat unsightly little bundles of leaves are sometimes very conspicuous. These are bound together with an irregular mass of web; and cutting one of them open, it is found to be full of the elytra of small beetles and the chitinous portions of other insects, as well as leaves, forming a closely compacted ball. This appears to be the work of a small spider, which is generally found in some portion of the nest.
There are many pleasant walks in different directions through the woods, some of them merely woodcutters’ paths, and others broader, where a palanquin can be taken. One cannot go far, however, without having to go down steep descents and again having a stiff climb; but the variety of leafage, the frequent occurrence of some beautiful flower or bright-coloured berry or fruit, or gay insect makes a walk full of interest; and when we reach a high point there are extensive views over the undulating masses of green foliage of very varied tints around one, and the bare Ankay plain, with the distant lower forest, twenty or thirty miles away, and fading into the distance north and south.