vitsika




 
  Quotes : vitsika

1915Sibree James : A Naturalist in Madagascar
page 130
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.
page 176
On the bare downs we frequently came across ant-hills, about two feet high and formed of greyish soil. It is said by the people all over the island that a serpent called renivitsika (i.e. "mother of ants") is enticed by these ants into its nest, and is then fattened, killed and eaten by them.

Discover
2006/03
page 50
"You can remove all the birds and still have a forest," says Fisher. "But you can't have a forest without invertebrates. It won't function anymore. The ants are the glue that holds it together."