Popular Adventure Tales

by Mayne Reid

  CHAPTER XXVII.

  THE ANT-LION.

  Ants are disagreeable insects in any country, but especially so in warmtropical climates. Their ugly appearance, their destructive habits, but,above all, the pain of their sting, or rather bite--for ants do notsting as wasps, but bite with the jaws, and then infuse poison into thewound--all these render them very unpopular creatures. A superficialthinker would suppose that such troublesome insects could be of no use,and would question the propriety of Nature in having created them.

  But when we give the subject a little attention, we find that they werenot created in vain. Were it not for these busy creatures, what wouldbecome of the vast quantities of decomposing substances found in somecountries? What would be done with the decaying vegetation and the deadanimal matter? Why, in many places, were it not consumed by theseinsects, and reorganised into new forms of life, it would producepestilence and death; and surely these are far more disagreeable thingsthan ants.

  Of ants there are many different kinds; but the greatest number ofspecies belong to warm countries, where, indeed, they are most useful.Some of these species are so curious in their habits, that whole volumeshave been written about them, and naturalists have spent a life-time intheir study and observation. Their social and domestic economy is of themost singular character, more so than that of the bees; and I am afraidhere to give a single trait of their lives, lest I should be led on totalk too much about them. I need only mention the wonderful nests orhills which some species build--those great cones of twenty feet inheight, and so strong that wild bulls run up their sides and stand upontheir tops without doing them the least injury!

  Others make their houses of cylindrical form, rising several feet fromthe surface. Others, again, prefer nesting in the trees, where theyconstruct large cellular masses of many shapes, suspending them from thehighest branches; while many species make their waxen dwellings inhollow trunks, or beneath the surface of the earth. There is not aspecies, however, whose habits, fully observed and described, would notstrike you with astonishment. Indeed, it is difficult to believe allthat is related about these insects by naturalists who have made themtheir study. One can hardly understand how such little creatures can begifted with so much intelligence, or _instinct_, as some choose to callit.

  Man is not the only enemy of the ants. If he were so, it is to be fearedthat these small insignificant creatures would soon make the earth toohot for him. So prolific are they, that if left to themselves our wholeplanet would, in a short period, become a gigantic ants' nest!

  Nature has wisely provided against the over increase of the ant family.No living thing has a greater variety of enemies than they. In all thedivisions of animated nature there are ant-destroyers--_ant-eaters_! Tobegin with the mammalia, man himself feeds upon them--for there aretribes of Indians in South America, the principal part of whose foodconsists of dried termites, which they bake into a kind of "paste!"There are quadrupeds that live exclusively on them, as the ant-bear,already described, and the _pangolins_, or scaly ant-eaters of theEastern continent. There are birds, too, of many sorts that devour theants; and there are even some who make them exclusively their food, asthe genus _Myothera_, or "ant-catchers." Many kinds of reptiles, bothsnakes and lizards, are ant-eaters; and, what is strangest of all, thereare _insects_ that prey upon them!

  No wonder, then, with such a variety of enemies that the ants are keptwithin proper limits, and are not allowed to overrun the earth.

  The observations just made are very similar to those that were addressedby Dona Isidora to the little Leona, one day when they were left alone.The others had gone about their usual occupation of bark-cutting, andthese, of course, remained at home to take care of the house and cookthe dinner. That was already hanging over a fire outside the house: forin these hot countries it is often more convenient to do the cookingout-of-doors.

  Dona Isidora, busy with some sewing, was seated under the shadow of thebanana-trees, and the pretty little Leona was playing near her. Leonahad been abusing the ants, partly on account of their having sofrightened Leon, and partly because one of the red species had bittenherself the day before; and it was for this reason that her mother hadentered into such explanations regarding these creatures, with a view ofexculpating them from the bitter accusations urged against them byLeona. Talking about ants very naturally led them to cast their eyes tothe ground to see if any of the creatures were near; and sure enoughthere were several of the red ones wandering about. Just then the eyesof Dona Isidora rested upon a very different insect, and she drew theattention of her daughter to it.

  It was an insect of considerable size, being full an inch in length,with an elongated oval body, and a small flat head. From the headprotruded two great horny jaws, that bore some resemblance to a pair ofcalliper compasses. Its legs were short and very unfitted for motion.Indeed they were not of much use for that purpose, as it could make verylittle way on them, but crawled only sidewards, or backwards, with greatapparent difficulty. The creature was of a greyish or sand colour; andin the sand, where it was seated, it might not have been observed at allhad not the lady's eyes been directed upon the very spot. But DonaIsidora, who was a very good entomologist, recognised it; and, knowingthat it was a very curious insect, on this account called the attentionof her daughter to it.

  "What is it, mamma?" inquired the little Leona, bending forward toexamine it.

  "The _ant-lion_."

  "The ant-lion! Why, mamma, it is an insect! How then can it be calledlion?"

  "It is a name given it," replied the lady, "on account of its fiercehabits, which, in that respect, assimilate it to its powerfulnamesake,--the king of the beasts; and, indeed, this little creature hasmore strength and ferocity in proportion to its size than even the lionhimself."

  "But why the _ant_-lion, mamma?"

  "Because it preys principally on ants. I have said there are insectant-eaters. This is one of them."

  "But how can such a slow creature as that get hold of them? Why, theants could crawl out of its way in a moment!"

  "That is true. Nevertheless it manages to capture as many as itrequires. Remember 'the race is not always to the swift.' It is bystratagem it succeeds in taking its prey--a very singular stratagem too.If you will sit back and not frighten it, I have no doubt it will soongive you an opportunity of seeing how it manages the matter."

  Leona took a seat by the side of her mother. They were both at just sucha distance from the ant-lion that they could observe every movement itmade; but for a considerable time it remained quiet; no doubt, becausethey had alarmed it. In the interval Dona Isidora imparted to herdaughter some further information about its natural history.

  "The ant-lion," said she, "is not an insect in its perfect state, butonly the _larva_ of one. The perfect insect is a very differentcreature, having wings and longer legs. It is one of the _neuropterous_tribe, or those with nerved wings. The wings of this species restagainst each other, forming a covering over its body, like the roof upona house. They are most beautifully reticulated like the finestlace-work, and variegated with dark spots, that give the insect a veryelegant appearance. Its habits are quite different to those which itfollows when a larva, or in that state when it is the ant-lion. It fliesbut little during the day, and is usually found quietly sitting amongstthe leaves of plants, and seems to be one of the most pacific andharmless of insects. How very different with the larva--the veryreverse--See!"

  Dona Isidora pointed to the ant-lion that was just then beginning tobestir itself, and both sat silent regarding it attentively.

  First, then, the little creature going backwards, and working with itscallipers, traced a circle on the surface of the sand. This circle wasbetween two and three inches in diameter. Having completed it, it nowcommenced to clear out all the sand within the circle. To accomplishthis, it was seen to scrape up the sand with one of its fore-feet, andshovel a quantity of it upon its flat head; then, giving a sudden jerkof the neck, it pitched the sand several inches outside the
tracedcircumference.

  This operation it repeated so often, and so adroitly, that in a veryshort time a round pit began to show itself in the surface of theground. Whenever it encountered a stone, this was raised between itscallipers and pitched out beyond the ring. Sometimes stones occurredthat were too large to be thrown out in this way. These it managed toget upon its back, and, then crawling cautiously up the sides of thepit, it tumbled them upon the edge and rolled them away. Had it met witha stone so large as to render this impossible, it would have left theplace, and chosen another spot of ground. Fortunately this was not thecase, and they had an opportunity of watching the labour to itsconclusion.

  For nearly an hour they sat watching it--of course not neglecting theirother affairs--and, at the end of that time, the ant-lion had jerked outso much sand, that a little funnel-shaped pit was formed nearly as deepas it was wide. This was its trap, and it was now finished and ready foraction.

  Having made all its arrangements, it had nothing more to do than remainat the bottom of the pit, and wait patiently until some unfortunate antshould chance to come that way and fall in; and where these insects wereconstantly wandering over the ground, such an accident would, sooner orlater, be certain to take place.

  Lest the ant should peep into the pit, discover its hideous form below,and then retreat, this ant-lion had actually the cunning to bury itsbody in the sand, leaving only a small portion of its head to be seen.

  Both Dona Isidora and the little Leona remained watching with increasedinterest. They were very anxious to witness the result. They were notkept long in suspense. I have already stated that many ants werecrawling about. There were dozens of them "quatering" the ground inevery direction in search of their own prey; and they left not an inchof it unsearched. At last one was seen to approach the trap of theant-lion. Curiosity brings it to the very edge of that terriblepit-fall. It protrudes its head and part of its body over the brink--itis not such a terrible gulf to look into--if it should slip down, itcould easily crawl out again.

  Ha! it little knows the enemy that is ambushed there. It perceivessomething singular--an odd something--perhaps it might be something goodto eat. It is half resolved to slide down and make a closer examinationof this something. It is balancing on the brink, and would, no doubt,have gone down voluntarily, but that is no longer left to its ownchoice. The mysterious object at the bottom of the funnel suddenlysprings up and shows itself--it is the ant-lion in all its hideousproportions; and before the little ant can draw itself away, the otherhas flung around it a shower of sand that brings it rolling down theside of the pit. Then the sharp callipers are closed upon thevictim--all the moisture in his body is sucked out--and his remains, nowa dry and shapeless mass, are rested for a moment upon the head of thedestroyer, and then jerked far outside the pit!

  The ant-lion now dresses his trap, and, again burying himself in thesand, awaits another victim.