Among them are
'workers' of five millimeters in length 'soldiers' of ten, and males
and females of twenty. We find also a kind otherwise very curious: the
_sirafous_ half an inch in length, which have pincers for jaws, and a
head larger than the body, like the sharks. They are the sharks among
insects, and in a fight between some _sirafous_ and a shark, I would
bet on the _sirafous_."
"And where are these _sirafous_ commonly observed?" then asked Dick
Sand.
"In Africa," replied Cousin Benedict; "in the central and southern
provinces. Africa is, in fact, the country of ants. You should read
what Livingstone says of them in the last notes reported by Stanley.
More fortunate than myself, the doctor has witnessed a Homeric battle,
joined between an army of black ants and an army of red ants. The
latter, which are called 'drivers,' and which the natives name
_sirafous_, were victorious.
"The others, the '_tchoungous_,' took flight, carrying their eggs and
their young, not without having bravely defended themselves. Never,
according to Livingstone, never was the spirit of battle carried
farther, either among men or beasts! With their tenacious jaws, which
tear out the piece, these _sirafous_ make the bravest man recoil. The
largest animals--even lions and elephants--flee before them.
"Nothing stops them; neither trees, which they climb to the summit,
nor streams, which they cross by making a suspension bridge of
their own bodies, hooked together.
Pages:
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318