The Forest Exiles: The Perils of a Peruvian Family in the Wilds of the Amazon

by Mayne Reid

  CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN.

  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. Butwhen we give the subject a little attention, we find that they were notcreated 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 lifetime intheir study and observation. Their social and domestic economy is ofthe most singular character, more so than that of the bees; and I amafraid here to give a single trait of their lives, lest I should be ledon to talk too much about them. I need only mention the wonderful nestsor hills 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 theirhouses of cylindrical form, rising several feet from the surface.Others, again, prefer nesting in the trees, where they construct largecellular masses of many shapes, suspending them from the highestbranches; while many species make their waxen dwellings in hollowtrunks, or beneath the surface of the earth. There is not a species,however, whose habits, fully-observed and described, would not strikeyou with astonishment. Indeed, it is difficult to believe all that isrelated about these insects by naturalists who have made them theirstudy. 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 befeared that these small insignificant creatures would soon make theearth too hot for him. So prolific are they, that if left to themselvesour whole planet 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-bearalready 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 smallflat head. From the head protruded two great horny jaws, that bore someresemblance to a pair of calliper compasses. Its legs were short andvery unfitted for motion. Indeed they were not of much use for thatpurpose, as it could make very little way on them, but crawled onlysidewards, or backwards, with great apparent difficulty. The creaturewas of a greyish or sand colour; and in the sand, where it was seated,it might not have been observed at all had not the lady's eyes beendirected upon the very spot. But Dona Isidora, who was a very goodentomologist, recognised it; and, knowing that it was a very curiousinsect, on this account called the attention of 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 ace 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 justsuch a distance from the ant-lion that they could observe every movementit made; but for a considerable time it remained quiet; no doubt,because they had alarmed it. In the interval Dona Isidora imparted toher daughter some further information about its natural history.

  "The ant-lion (_Myrmeleori_)," said she, "is not an insect in itsperfect state, but only the _larva_ of one. The perfect insect is avery different creature, having wings and longer legs. It is one of the_neuropterous_ tribe, or those with nerved wings. The wings of thisspecies rest against each other, forming a covering over its body, likethe roof upon a house. They are most beautifully reticulated like thefinest lace-work, and variegated with dark spots, that give the insect avery elegant appearance. Its habits are quite different to those whichit follows when a larva, or in that state when it is the ant-lion. Itflies but little during the day, and is usually found quietly sittingamongst the leaves of plants, and seems to be one of the most pacificand harmless 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 outsi
de the tracedcircumference. This operation it repeated so often, and so adroitly,that in a very short time a round pit began to show itself in thesurface of the ground. Wherever it encountered a stone, this was raisedbetween its callipers and pitched out beyond the ring. Sometimes stonesoccurred that were too large to be thrown out in this way. These itmanaged to get upon its back, and, then crawling cautiously up the sidesof the pit, it tumbled them upon the edge and rolled them away. Had itmet with a stone so large as to render this impossible, it would haveleft the place, and chosen another spot of ground. Fortunately this wasnot the case, 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 readyfor action.

  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 "quartering" 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 isambushed there. It perceives something singular--an odd something--perhaps it might be something good to eat. It is half-resolved to slidedown and make a closer examination of this something. It is balancingon the brink, and would, no doubt, have gone down voluntarily, but thatis no longer left to its own choice. The mysterious object at thebottom of the funnel suddenly springs up and shows itself--it is theant-lion in all its hideous proportions; and before the little ant candraw itself away, the other has flung around it a shower of sand thatbrings it rolling down the side of the pit. Then the sharp callipersare closed upon the victim--all the moisture in his body is sucked out--and his remains, now a dry and shapeless mass, are rested for a momentupon the head of the destroyer, and then jerked far outside the pit!

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