Natural history -- Nicaragua; Nicaragua -- Description and travel
As soon as an Eciton gets hold of its prey, it rushes off back
along the advancing column, which is composed of two sets, one
hurrying forward, the other returning laden with their booty, but
all and always in the greatest haste and apparent hurry. About the
nest which they are harrying everything is confusion, Ecitons run
here and there and everywhere in the greatest haste and disorder;
but the result of all this apparent confusion is that scarcely a
single Hypoclinea gets away with a pupa or larva. I never saw the
Ecitons injure the Hypoclineas themselves, they were always
contented with despoiling them of their young. The ant that is
attacked is a very cowardly species, and never shows fight. I often
found it running about sipping at the glands of leaves, or milking
aphides, leaf-hoppers, or scale-insects that it found unattended by
other ants. On the approach of another, though of a much smaller
species, it would immediately run away. Probably this cowardly and
un-antly disposition has caused it to become the prey of the Eciton.
At any rate, I never saw the Ecitons attack the nest of other
species.
The moving columns of Ecitons are composed almost entirely of
workers of different sizes, but at intervals of two or three yards
there are larger and lighter-coloured individuals that will often
stop, and sometimes run a little backward, halting and touching
some of the ants with their antennae. They look like officers
giving orders and directing the march of the column.
This species is often met with in the forest, not in quest of one
particular form of prey, but hunting, like _Eciton predator_, only
spread out over a much greater space of ground. Crickets,
grasshoppers, scorpions, centipedes, wood-lice, cockroaches, and
spiders are driven out from below the fallen leaves and branches.
Many of them are caught by the ants; others that get away are
picked up by the numerous birds that accompany the ants, as
vultures follow the armies of the East. The ants send off exploring
parties up the trees, which hunt for nests of wasps, bees, and
probably birds. If they find any, they soon communicate the
intelligence to the army below, and a column is sent up immediately
to take possession of the prize. I have seen them pulling out the
larvae and pupae from the cells of a large wasp's nest, whilst the
wasps hovered about, powerless, before the multitude of the
invaders, to render any protection to their young.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account