The natural history of ants;

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- THE

OF

BY

M. P. HUBER,

MEMBER OF THE PHYSICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF
GENEVA, AND CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE NATURAL
HISTORY SOCIETIES OF TARNE AND GARONNE, &c,

ee
TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH,
WITH ADDITIONAL NOTES,

By J. R. JOHNSON, M.D., F.R.S., &c.

— a ree =

LONDON:

PRINTED FOR LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME, AND BROWN .
PATERNOSTER-ROW.

1820.

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ADVERTISEMENT.

Since the following pages were put
to the press, the Translator has been
favoured with a letter from the Author,
of which the following is an extract : —

«Since the publication of my ‘ Re-
searches into the Natural History of
Indigenous Ants,’ I have frequently re-
witnessed what I there describe ; so that
I can truly affirm, I have neither been led
aside by a fertile imagination, nor by a
love of the marvellous.

** Some of these facts appear to many
of so romantic a nature, that I am happy
in not being the only person who has

A 8

vi ADVERTISEMENT.

noticed them ; not only are there several
enlightened observers in this country
(Switzerland), but a number of other
Naturalists, who, since the publication of
my work, have also observed the same
occurrences. What has afforded me
peculiar satisfaction, is, that of having
learned, vivd voce, from M. De Latreille,
one of the most distinguished Natura-
lists of Paris, Member of the Institute
or Academy of Sciences, that he had
witnessed, on an extensive scale, and
had shown to several of his colleagues,
the wars and pillages of my Amazon
Ants.

‘* You will find another proof in a
work of this great Naturalist, entitled,
‘ Memoires sur divers sujets de ? Histotre
Naturelle des Insectes, §c.’ and particu-
Jarly in that memoir, entitled, ‘ Conside-
rations nouvelles et generales sur les
Insectes vivans en Societé. Discours lu a
la Séance publique de P Academie des
Sciences, le 17 Mars, 1817.

ADVERTISEMENT. Vil

** The Author of these Memoirs, after
having mentioned in a summary way,
the facts I published upon the manners,
&c. of the Rufescent Amazon Ant, says,
‘ I observed, in 1802, an army of these
Ants in one of their military excursions.
They were traversing one of our great
roads, covering the whole of its breadth,
and advancing in a column of about two
feet in width. I attributed this move-
ment to a forced emigration. . I sus-
pected, however, from the form of this
species, before M. Huber had published
any account of it, that it had_parti-
cular habits. I found this Ant in the
woods, in the neighbourhood of Paris.
The whole of the facts related by this
Naturalist (Huber) have been fully con-
jirmed

* M. De Latreille told me, that he
had shown this singular phenomenon to
a skilful English Naturalist, whose name
I think is Leach.

A 4

Vili ADVERTISEMENT.

«« These, Sir, are the proofs by which
I hope to obtain the confidence of a
great number of those readers, who are
unable to ascertain the truth of my
assertions.”

PREFACE,

BY THE TRANSLATOR.

Tur favourable critique of these Re.
searches (Recherches sur les Meurs des
Fourmis, &c.), in the Edinburgh Re-
view, for July, 1812, led me to entertain
little doubt, that, long ere this, a trans-
jation would have been presented to the
public. |

Disappointed in this expectation, and
desirous of filling up agreeably a portion
of my leisure time, I engaged in the
translation, although aware of the little
merit attached to so humble an office.

| A Sd

x . PREFACE

If the reader, however, experience the
same pleasure in the perusal of this work,
as I did in transcribing it for the press,
both parties will be satisfied, and I
shall have the gratification of knowing
that my labour has not been unavailing,
or my time misemployed.

The additional notes are not what I
was desirous they should be. I hoped to
have made some addition to the History
of Ants, or at least to have confirmed
some of the very remarkable facts re-
corded in the present volume, particu-
larly that of the female ants voluntarily
depriving themselves of their wings after
impregnation; but I lament that con-
tinued ill health prevented my making
those exertions necessary to attain this
object.

JI regret that, during my residence at
Geneva, I was not personally acquainted
with our author, who resides in the
neighbourhood of that city, and who
would doubtless have felt much pleasure
in supplying me with additional inform-

BY THE TRANSLATOR. | xi

ation. I then had no idea of putting the
following pages to the press, or I would
have obtained an introduction through
the medium of my kind friends, Profes-
sor Pictet or Monsieur de Luc.

It were much to be wished that mo-
nographs on the smaller animals, like the
one now before us, were more frequently
published in this country, since it would
have the effect of removing, in some de-
gree, the ridicule attached to those who
attend to the minuter objects of creation,
and of placing this department of Natu-
ral History, on a more extended and firm
basis.

That entomology is neither a trifling
nor an useless study, it will be enough
- to mention — to say nothing of the na-
tional advantage Sweden derived from
the entomological knowledge of Lin-
nzeus — the very great services rendered
to medicine and the arts, by the intro-
duction of the silk-worm, the cochineal
insect, and the Spanish fly.

A 6

Xi PREFACE

But, waiving these advantages, and
others equally great would doubtless arise,
if this branch of Natural History were
more generally cultivated, let us only
consider it in the light of an amuse-
ment, — still is it an amusement not
without its charms.

The amusements of the Naturalist are
attended with no great expense; his em-
ployment in the open air contributes to
the preservation of his health; his frame
becomes robust from constant exercise,
and the spirit of enquiry is awakened .
as he contemplates the several objects
by which he is surrounded: whether he
climbs the lofty mountain, confines him-
self to the smiling valley, crosses the
brawling stream, penetrates the en-
tangled forest, or breaks out into the
open plain, a thousand beings sporting
in the air, measuring the ground, or
skimming the surface of the liquid ele-
ment, arrest his steps, and claim his at-
tention; his pulse beats high with en-

BY THE TRANSLATOR. Xi

joyment, and his heart, warmed with the »
kindlier emotions, throbs with unutter-

able delight ; moreover,

‘* He fears no bailiff’s wrath, no baron’s blame ;
His is untax’d and undisputed game.”
CrasBe’s Borough, p. 110.

Bristol, Feb. 6. 1820.

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PREFACE,

BY THE AUTHOR.

Mucu has been written upon Ants:
their form of government, and their la-
bours, excited the admiration of the
ancients equally with the moderns; but it
is only in the present day that just ob-
servations have taken place of the fabu-
lous recitals of Pliny and Aristotle.

The Naturalists of the last century at-
tended to their transformations, disco-
vered the sexes, and cleared up many
essential points of their history. Learn-
ed anatomists, also, described their or-
gans, classed the different kinds of
Ants, and pointed out their generic
characters.

XVI PREFACE

To the individual who wishes to be ac-
quainted with the history of these in-
sects, it is no slight advantage, to be
enabled to designate the species, without
lying under the necessity of entering
into long and minute descriptions; he
can then devote himself entirely to the
study of those laws by which these vari-
ous tribes are governed, undertake new
researches into their habitudes and in-
dustry, and have his attention solely oc-
cupied with the phenomena their in-
stinct presents.

If I have made any progress in the
History of Ants, I stand, in a considerable
degree, indebted to the extensive works
of M. Latreille, who, independent of the
excellent descriptions, and complete clas-
sification he has given us of these in-
sects, has, by his observations, con-
tributed to remove several popular
errors.

One of our contemporaries, trusting to
a fertile and brilliant imagination, has
been pleased so far to honour these little

BY THE AUTHOR. XVil

insects as to dress them out in all the vir-
tues, excusing them the vices that so
much disgrace the human species.

The History of Ants being yet incom-
plete, I have been induced to join my own
observations to those of my learned pre-
decessors, trusting that the perseverance
with which I have studied the economy
of Ants for several years has enabled me
to fill up a portion of that void which
still remains in this branch of science.

Animated with the desire of following
the steps of the celebrated guide nature
had placed near me, I undertook, under
his auspices, works similar to those in
which he had been distinguished, and
found in this occupation the double
pleasure, of interesting him and instruct-
ing myself.

I published in early life, some obser-
vations upon humble-bees, insects that
live in a republic. ‘These first attempts
having been received by Naturalists more
favourably than I had reason to expect,
! flattered myself that I should be en-

_ Xvi PREFACE

abled to disclose some of the secrets in
the History of Ants, whose societies, al-
though much more extensive, present
gveater difficulties, in the investigation,
from the diminutive size-of the indivi-
dua s composing them, and the obscurity
in which most of their operations are en-
veloped.

These researches, which I am aware
are still very imperfect, present so re-
markable an assemblage of facts, that I
am induced to lay them before the ama-
teurs of Natural History, hoping they will
meet a favourable reception.

Not to interrupt the course of my ob-
servations by anatomical details, I have
placed in the introduction all that relates
to the external organization of Ants. I
have also added an abridged notice of
factscollected by other Naturalists, whose
writings may be easily procured, should
the reader feel desirous of obtaining fur-
ther information.

In these researches I have followed no
methodical arrangement, having adopted

- BY THE AUTHOR. Xix

the plan I considered the best adapted to
elucidate the subject. I therefore com-
mence, by giving an account of the art
with which Ants construct their habi-
tation.

These insects inhabit, for the most part,
the bottom of their subterranean resi-
dence ; hence there was a necessity of my
being provided with an apparatus that
would enable me to follow them in their
domestic occupations. After describing
the one I employed, I mention the great
care which these little creatures take of
the eggs, larvee, and pupe of their nu-
merous family.

I devote an entire chapter to the his-
tory of the females; I describe their
amours, and state the manner in which
new colonies are established, and
ancient ones preserved. Passing from
the relation of Labourers with the winged
individuals, to that of the Labourers
among themselves, 1 accompany them in
their migrations and excursions, notice
their individual conduct, and then de-

xX PREFACE

scribe the combats in which they en-
gage.

In the course of this work, several
questions are discussed that may appear
bold to those who do not_see in insects
any thing but organized machines, but
they will not astonish the Naturalist, ac-
customed to distrust his own opinions.
There are few individuals who have not
perceived how absurd is the supposition
of a blind instinct, and for some time
past we have granted to animals, at least
so it to me appears, a greater degree of
knowledge than formerly.

If we reflect a moment on the compli-
cated nature of that mechanism, we must
put in place of a spark of that light
in which we all participate, to enable it
to accommodate itself to circumstances,
to provide for the several necessities of a
numerous colony, and to direct a multi-
tude of springs in such a manner as to
concur in the same end, we shall be
tempted to prefer an hypothesis the most
simple,—that which accords to insects a

17

BY THE AUTHOR. XX1

sufficient degree of intelligence for the
conduct of their domestic affairs, to that
which considers themas mere automatons.

But Ants, living as they do in society,
and entering upon labours that require
some degree of unanimity —have they no
means of understanding, and of making
known their wants and their situation to.
their companions? What are the con-
necting bonds of this numerous family ?
Have they chiefs, a government, a police?
Do we find among them any proof of that
subordination so boasted of by their pa-
negyrists, and of that economical fore-
sight which they present us as an ex-
ample for our imitation ?— These impor-
tant questions would have alone engaged
my attention, hadI been able to followany
regular plan in my observations: but
when we advance on an unknown region,
we cannot trace before-hand the boun-
daries of our journey; and Natural History
offers more than one proof, that to make
new discoveries we must now and then
quit the main road.

XXil PREFACE

I was, however, far from expecting
those extraordinary facts that presented
themselvesin the course of my researches;
among them those of the Ants with
their pucerons, which I have already pub-
lished, and to which I have made several
additions. But there are facts still more
singular connected with the Ants of dif-
ferent species. The history of the Ama-
zon Ants presents a phenomenon so op-
posed to what the manners of insects and
other animals have hitherto offered us,
and recals so prominent a feature in the
history of man, that I have given up a
great portion of my time to its elucida-
tion, and have considered it my duty to
devote several chapters to it, with the
view of making it known in all its detail,
and of putting the reader in the way of
judging or verifying the truth of my
assertions.

I conclude the work by some general
considerations which my observations
have suggested to me, and by comparing
the habits of Ants with those of other in-
sects that live in a republic.

BY THE AUTHOR. XXili

The title I have given to these re-
searches is not to be taken in its fullest
extent, since I have not studied the man-
ners of a// the indigenous ants. I know
twenty-three species of which I have not
equally learned the history; but if the
facts I have noticed, excite the attention
of Naturalists, and induce them to fill up
the outline I now lay before them, it will
bethe sweetest recompense forthe labours
to which I have been devoted.

rut

Pans

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naionE .

INTRODUCTION.

My design in this Introduction, is to
take a rapid review of the facts collected
by several writers relative to the History
of Ants. The descriptive part, better
known than that which refers to their
manners and habits, still presents some
doubts which I shall attempt to remove.
De Geer, among the ancient, Fabricius
and Latreille among the modern natural-
ists, are those to whom I shall have re-
course for their classification.

Systematic authors have placed Ants
in the class of insects with four naked
wings— with Bees, Wasps, Andrenx, &c.
from which they differ essentially in the
composition of their families, where we

a

XXV1 INTRODUCTION.

find the males and females furnished with
wings, and the workers without them.
The characters given by M. Latreille,
to distinguish them more particularly, are
that of having “the peduncle of the
abdomen surmounted with a scale, or
knotty; the abdomen of the workers
and females ejaculating an acid, or armed
with a sting; the antenne filiform, or
slightly enlarged at their extremity, bent
or fractured in the middle, composed of
twelve or thirteen joints ; the second co-
nical, of the same length as those that
follow ; a tongue, spoon-shaped, entire ;
the upper lip effaced; the palpi filiform
unequal, anterior of five, posterior of four
joints. ‘The first of these characters
furnishes two very distinct families, the
one, composed of all those ants that have
the peduncle surmounted by a scale, the
other, of all those in which it is formed
of two knots. The characters of the
first family, are—having the antenne fili-
form, or pointed at the extremity; no
sting; a simple venom-bag; the abdomen

INTRODUCTION. XXVil

more elongated, and composed in the fe-
_ males and workers of five rings.

The ants of the second family have
the antennze moniliform, and consider-
ably enlarged at their exttemity ; a sting;
the abdomen short, and composed of four
rings in females and the workers.

The males have, in general, the an-
tennz longer, and of thirteen joints; the
abdomen is composeb of one ring more
than in other individuals of their species ;
they possess neither a sting nor a venom-
bag. As we shall treat in this work of
none but indigenous ants, all of
which find place in this general division,
I shall not enter into greater detail rela-
tive to their classification.

Let us examine separately all the parts
of the body of ants in order to know
their external organs. ‘Their head is
triangular, oblong, and terminates in a
point more or less obtuse; it is thick at
the top, thin at the opposite extremity,
and terminated by two large teeth, termed
mandibles; underneath is the mouth,

properly so called. On each side are
a 2

XXVIiL INTRODUCTION.

large reticulated oval eyes; above, we
commonly notice three more, very small,
and placed so as to form a triangle. In
the fore-part of the head are the anten-
nz, and underneath the lower jaws the
palpi. |
The mandibles of the pate and the
workers are of a horny structure, con-
cave, curved, denticulated, moveable,
and serve for several purposes: those of
the males are very slender, terminate in
a point, andare covered with hair. Besides
these organs with which the mouth is
externally furnished, we also remark an
upper lip, slightly projecting, two infe-
rior jaws, very small, which play from
right to left, and a lower lip, hidden en-
tirely underneath ; we are not yet agreed
as to their composition. |
Fabricius gives to Ants of all kinds, Si
their. principal character, that of having
a mouth destitute of a tongue (os absque
Lingua); Latreille, on the contrary,
grants them one, expressing it under this
form (Langue en cuilleron entiére); ‘the

17

INTRODUCTION. XX1X

lower lip,’”’ he says, “is formed of a co-
nical furrow, coriaceous, with an elevated
ridge in the middle, and terminated in a
point, and of a tongue, or membranous
portion, lodged in this furrow, and spoon-
shaped.’’— I beg leave to add some few
observations to those of these great na-
turalists. When the ants wish todrink, we
see proceed from their lower jaws, which
are much shorter than the upper, a little
conical, fleshy, and yellowish tubercle,
which performs the office of a tongue,
advancing and retiring alternately; it
appears to proceed from what we term
‘the lower lip, which serves as the base,
and perhaps a sheath to this tongue, and
which is so small, that it is only from
analogy with other insects we have given
it this name. ‘This lip is capable of ad-
vancing conjointly with the two lower
jaws, and when the insect wishes to lap,
the whole apparatus makes a progressive
movement, in such a way, that thetongue,
which is very short, has no need of much
extension to enable it to accomplish its
a3

XXX INTRODUCTION.

object. The jaws are elongated, en-
larged at their extrémity, slightly concave
underneath, of a horny substance, and,
compared to the mandibles, extremely
slender and weak. In the centre, exter-
nally, we notice palpi of six rings each,
and two more may be also perceived at
the base of the tongue; the latter are
much smaller and composed only of four
rings: we are as vet unacquainted with
their use.

The antenne, as we have before stated,
are bent or fractured, situated in the fore-
part of the head, more or less near the
middle of the forehead ; they lie in a small
longitudinal furrow, and are composed of
twelve or thirteen joints ; the first beimg
about half their length. The antenne
of those ants that have a scale upon the
fillet of the abdomen are filiform, and are
composed of rings of the same size, or
terminate slightly ina point. The ants
of the second family have the antenne,
on the contrary, enlarged at the extre-
mity; those of the males are setaceous

INTRODUCTION. XXXI

in the first species, more granulated in the
Jatter species, and in all are formed. of
one ring more than in the workers and
females.

The head is connected to the thorax or
corslet by. a thin, short, and narrow neck,
of a fleshy substance, and furnished with
muscles, by which all its movements are
regulated.

The corslet. of the winged individuals
is very large comparatively to the head;
that of the workers is much narrower 3;
that of the former is convex, entire,
composed of several horny pieces, of
different forms, retained by proper mem-
branes: the superior is separated from

the sternal portion by a furrow, in the
middle of which the wings are implanted.
The wings are placed in the back part of
the corslet, whilst, in other insects of the
same kind, they are situated more in
front of the body. Another remarkable
character respecting their insertion is,—
that the corslet has none of those instru-
ments (Cuzllerons) destined to moderate
a 4

XXXII INTRODUCTION.

‘the movements of the wings, and which
are situated at their base in the other
hymenopterous insects. *

The corslet of the workers is gibbous,
divided equally, and compesed, according
to De Geer, of three pieces ; the first ~
that nearest the head, is thick and round ;
the second is of less size, extends to the
under part of the abdomen, and appears
divided in two transversely; the third,
much thicker than the second, is trun-
cated and obtuse. We cannot well define
the form of the corslet, since it varies
according to the species; it has four
stigma, two of which rest in a slight
lateral depression (which seems to divide
the corslet), one on each side ; the other
two are situated near the posterior. ex-
tremity, to the right and left of the fillet.

The wings, which are four in number,
are transparent, large, and sleek; the
posterior are shorter than the anterior,
their nervures are slightly coloured, and

* These observations were communicated to me

by Professor Jurine, and are a proof of the distin-
; uishing glance of this able naturalist.

INTRODUCTION. XXXI1

‘the stigma is yellow or brown. These
wings are hooked when the insect flies ;
they form but one horizontal surface by
means of aseries of little hooks disposed
at their margin.

To each of the three lower parts of
the corslet are attached a pair of legs.
‘They are connected by a moveable piece,
long and conical, which we may term the
hip. The posterior legs are the longest ;
they are each divided into three principal
parts —-the thigh, the leg, and the foot
or tarsus; the latter is formed of five
conical pieces, of unequal length, arti-
culated together, and more or less hatry ;
the tarsus is terminated by two hooks,
between which lies a round substance,
which we may regard as the sole of the
foot. We remark, at the extremity of
the leg, properly so called, a spine or spur,
‘straight, strong, and smooth ; that on the
anterior feet is slightly curved, and co-
vered with stiff hair, where it is con-
nected to the foot. The first piece of
the tarsus, which is opposite the spur,

presents a considerable curvature. It i
a 5

XXXIV INTRODUCTION.

furnished with a fringe-work of strong
hair, cutregularly. This constitutes the
brush which the insect: employs when
cleaning its antennz, head, and corslet;
it has also other uses, but to these I shall
allude on another occasion.

The vertical seale is heart-shaped, with
the point turned downwards. It is tra-
versed at its origin by the abdominal
fillet; its form varies, and it furnishes
very distinct characters. Latreille re-
marks that it is provided with two
stigmee, which are situated at its base on
the posterior side.

The abdomen or belly of the ant is
always larger than the corslet, of an oval
form, swoln, and more or less pointed at
the posterior extremity. It 1s composed
of demi-rings, which are of a horny sub-
stance ; the superior are connected with
the inferior by means of a flexible mem-
brane, which allows of their separation
and approximation at will. It is easy to
notice this when the insect has taken a
full meal, since each of these horny pieces

INTRODUCTION. XEXV

appears then to be separated from the rest
by a little whitish band, which is nothing
more than this membrane. The abdo-
men is composed of four or five rings,
the last of which gives passage to the
‘sexual organs and the sting.

Latreille regards the scale as charac-
teristic, which rests on the fillet of the
abdomen, and takes the place of a
ring, which, without that, would be
wanting in the abdomen of these insects.
These are his words:—¥** Naturalists,”’ he
says, ** have not considered that this
scale or these knots on the peduncle of
the abdomen of ants are only the first
rings shaped in this way. Several wasps
have also the first segment of the abdo-
men formed likea knot. To decide this
point, let us count the number of rings
of which the abdomen of ants is com-
posed ; we know, and it is a constant rule
with respect to insects of this order, that
there are seven rings in the abdomen of
males, and six in that of females. Let
us see if, after taking away the scale and

a 6

KXXVI INTRODUCTION.

the knots of the peduncle, we shall find
this number. We do not : — for the ab-
domen of the.females or workers, which
has a scale or single knot in the fore-part,
possess but five rings, and that of the
males only six. The abdomen of those
ants whose peduncle is formed of two
knots, will have still one ring less; that
isto say, four in some, and five in others.”’
— We have already remarked, that the
workers and females of some species are
provided with a sting; this consists of a
Jittle short, horny substance, straight and
conical, formed of two filaments, and ac-
companied with two other little pieces,
conical, smooth, compressed, one on each
‘side. © “* There exists,’? continues M.
Latreille, ‘‘ the greatest resemblance be-
tween the exterior organs of generation
in single females and workers; the re-
semblance indeed is so close, that on the
most severe examination we can scarcely
perceive any sensible difference.’’ . He
regards the workers as impotent females,
whose organs have not received their full

INTRODUCTION. XXXVil

development. In truth, if we consider
the form of their head and their teeth,
the number of the joints or articulations
in their antenne, the number of their
rings, the presence of the sting, or that of
the venom-bag which replaces it, we
shall be struck with the similarity exist-
ing between these two orders. The
workers are much smaller than the fe-
males ; they also differ in the form of the
corslet, in the absence of wings, and in
colour. Some of the males are smaller,
others larger than the workers of their
species ; their corslet is shaped like that
of the females; the scale or knots are of
great similarity in all the individuals of
each family: the males are commonly of
a blackish hue.

Our knowledge of the manners and
habits of ants is extremely limited, con-
sisting only of a small assemblage of de-
tached facts, and of a few assertions,
sufficiently vague, which I shall discuss
in their proper place. In the list of mo-
dern authors who have contributed to

XXXVI INTRODUCTION.

the history of ants, we find naturalists of
the greatest celebrity.

Leeuwenhoeck is the first who seri-
ously attended to the metamorphoses of
ants, and proved that what had been
hitherto regarded as their eggs were the
real larvee ; indeed from their magnitude
this should have been previously known,
the eggs of these insects being exceed-
ingly minute.

Swammerdam confirms, by profound
researches and admirable descriptions,
the observations published by his prede-
cessor : — he notices the several changes
ants undergo, and shows the pupa to be
the same individual that under the form
of larva possessed neither limbs nor any
distinct features. He points out the dis-
tinction between the males and females,
which, he says, are furnished with wings,
and remarks, that the common ants are
jJabourers or neuters, as obtains in bees.
He also describes some of the domestic
occupations in which ants are engaged,
and informs us, that the larvae of some

INTRODUCTION. XxxXIx

species spin a silken envelope, in which
they undergo their transformation, and
then gives us excellent descriptions of
several species of ants.

Linnzus comes next: — he describes
seven species of ants met with in Sweden;
— treats of the large conical ant-hills
abounding in fir-forests ; finds the female
ants, as well as the males, furnished with
wings ; which, he says, they lose a little
time after birth, and is of opinion they
never return to their original habit-
ation.

Geoffroy adds nothing to the facts
brought forward by these excellent na-
turalists: he falls, on the contrary, into
several errors, which, as they have been
combated by De Geer, I shall pass over
in silence.

‘This last author (De Geer) informs us,
that the young ants cannot extricate them-
selves from their silken envelope without
the assistance of the labourers; and that
the larvae of the shining black ant do
not always spin, since we find in their

xl INTRODUCTION.

nest pupe both naked and _ enclosed,
He also observes that the larvee of cer-
tain species pass the winter in that state,
and that those of the Yellow Ant are
closely invested with hair in the month
of April, &c. — Passing from the infant
to the adult state of the ant, he notices
their amours in the air, believes that the
females return to their nest to deposit
their eggs, in this respect opposing the
opinion of Linnzeus, who was, however,
better informed on this subject than him-
self. This justly celebrated naturalist,
notwithstanding, gives us more inform-
ation upon the history of ants than the
whole of his predecessors.

Charles Bonnet was in his turn occu-
pied: —he was of opinion that ants are
directed in their migrations by the scent.
He notices a small family-establishment
of these insects on the head of a thistle,
of which he gives us an interesting ac-
count. Had he, however, opened it, he
would have, with admiration, discovered
the motive which drew them thither, and

INTRODUCTION. xh

would no longer have been astonished at
their living there without touching the
provision he tendered them. He saw
these ants engaged in carrying each
other, and describes their proceedings in
his usual lively and agreeable manner, al-
though unaware of the purport for which
these insects had assembled.

M. Latreille confirms the facts brought
forward by other authors. He notices
two species of ants destitute of eyes, but
does not describe their manners. He
also advances some conjectures to which
we shall refer hereafter.

It appears from all the observations
made to the present day, that we are not
agreed as to the fate of the males and
females ; that we know not why certain
larve should, others should not, spin;
why among some species we should find
pupe both naked and enclosed ; that
we have not sufticiently attended to the
spirit which reigns in the interior of ant-
hills, nor to the relation existing between
the labouring ants and their females ;

xin INTRODUCTION.

that we have not discovered whether they
possess the means of understanding each
other; that we have not sufficiently de-
scribed the construction of their abode,
nor the manner in which they establish
it, nor do we know whether these insects
do or do not form colonies, &c. The
number of questions not yet solved is
endless ; it is, however, time to fill up
some of the numerous sketches which
our predecessors have left us upon this
subject, and place, if possible, the history
of ants on a more solid and secure found-
ation.

CONTENTS.

CHAP. I.

Page
THE Prem lectue of Ants - <= -+ + ©. = 1
. The Architecture of the Fallow Ants 2
2. - - = = + + + = Mason Ants 16

GS. - - + - + + = © dark Ash-co-
coloured Ants - - - - = = $8

Ape, 3. espe cd toi Ante ghathin-
habit timber - - - - + - = 47

Bont ee oe we ee pee that

forin their residence of saw-dust, &c. 58

CHAP. Il.
Or the Eggs, Larva, and Pupa of Ants - - 60

CHAP. III.

Or the Fecundation, &c.of Ants - - - 4
i. Of the departure of the Winged Ants 20.

2.- - History of the Winged Ants
after impregnation - - - - - 108

3. - - conduct of the Labourers to-

wards the pregnant females - - - 127

xliv CONTENTS.

CHAPiIV:
. Page
Or the relation between Ants - - - - = 142
2. Of the manner in which Ants are
guided in their several excursions - 15]

3. - - migrations of the Fallow Ants 157
4. - - affection of Ants for their com-
panions - - - - = = = = 168
CHAP. V.
_ Or the wars of Ants, and some other parti-
REAP tea ee ee Oe 2 ee
CHAP wiVi.

Or the Relation of Ants with the Pucerons
and Gall Fasects © <4. eh Ne ve -QOR

1. Of the Antennal Language - - - i.
2.- - intimacy of Ants with the
Pueerons § + > er te a BO
3. - - Relation of Ants with the Gall
INSECLS Se Se ee
4, - ~- almosthuman industry of Ants 222
5. - - resources of the Ants during
writer “Sik eae a ta a
6.- - eggsofthe Pucerons - - - 239

CHAP. VIL.
First historical sketch of the Amazon Ants 248
CHAP. VIII.

ReEsf£ARCHEsS into the origin of mixed ant-
hills - = - eee ee te Ae

CONTENTS. xlv
CHAP. IX.
FurtHer information on the Amazon Ants 288

CHAP.:X;

Tue Establishment of a mixed Ant-hill, in
a glass apparatus - - - - + = 310

CHAP. XI.

History ofthe Sanguine Ants - - - - 329

CHAP. XII.

Osservations on those insects that live in
Republics - - + - © + = ~ 346

APPENDIX ©-92 2) © wie ye oe © 879

Wet
Lage ant “nt

io)

THE
NATURAL HISTORY

OF

ANTS.

CHAP. I.

THE ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS.

Tue first objects which strike the atten-
tion in entering upon the study of the
history of ants, are the art with which
' ad form their habitations ; their variety,
_ and the manner in which they respectively
_ answer the wants of the species who con-
struct them. They are sometimes fa-
bricated with earth, sometimes hewn out
in the trunk of the most solid trees, or
simply composed of leaves and stalks of
plants collected from all quarters. They
are of an astonishing size, when compared
with their diminutive architects.
B

® - ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS.

I hope, in the course of the present
work, to bring the reader to conceive
what degree of intelligence we may
grant these insects, whose faculties, po-
lice, and sagacity, have been, by some
authors, as much over-rated as by others
not duly appreciated.

The three modes of’ building, of which
I have just spoken, admit of numerous
modifications, each species of ant being
endowed with some peculiar talent. I
shall mention in what they differ, after
describing the general outline of their
architecture, if we may express, by the
same term, the simple and rude work of
an insect, and an art brought to perfec-
tion by the hands of man. ah

1, ART OF BUILDING AMONG THE FALLOW
ANTS.

The fallow ant is that ant which forms
in the woods those hillocks so remarkable
for their extent. It admits of easy ob-
servation, from its being above the mid-
dle size, from its operations being carried

ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS. 3

on in open day, and from the simplicity
of the work in which we find it engaged.
It is very common in every part of Eu-
rope, and has, therefore, occupied the
attention of Linnzus, De Geer, &c., but
these Jearned men, having noticed it un-
der a point of view different from mine,
and my plan not permitting me to men-
tion what they say upon this head, I shall,
after briefly describing these insects, com-
mence by explaining the construction of
their abode, at the same time noticing
the very exact police ants of this species
observe. |

The working fallow ants are from
three to four lines in length, and stand
high upon their legs. Their head, which
is larger than the corslet, is of a pale red
or fallow colour at the extremity, and
blackish at the top. ‘The mouth is armed
with two very strong mandibles, denticu-
lated and hooked at the point, which they
generally keep apart, and make use of, not
only for attacking their enemies and tear-
ing their prey, but in carrying burthens,

B2

4 ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS.

and performing the labours and repar-
ations of the ant-hill. The antenne are
black and filiform. The corslet is pro-
tuberant, raised anteriorly, compressed
and truncated posteriorly, often marked
with a black stain above, the rest being
of a clear fallow colour. ‘The peduncle
of the abdomen is of the same colour, and
bears a large scale, which is scolloped
and blackish on its superior margin.
The abdomen is brown or ash-coloured,
slightly invested with hair, globose, com-
posed of five rings, not counting the
scale, wanting the sting, but armed with
avenom-bag. ‘The feet are brown, and
the thighs, at their origin, of a reddish
tint. I have described, in the Appendix,
two varieties of these. ants; one with a
black back, another with a back of the
same colour as the rest of the corslet.
This difference, which scarcely affects
the habitudes of these insects, separates,
however, those who inhabit the woods
from those who live along-side hedges,
and in meadows. It is the latter only,

ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS. 5

that have the corslet stained with black
and the scale on its upper margin * brown.
They both collect, near their habitation,
fragments of straw, pieces of wood, little
stones, leaves, and all other objects within
reach, that may be of service in in-
creasing its height, not neglecting even
moths, minute shells, corn, oats, and bar-
ley, which doubtless gave rise to their
ancient renown. But if this foresight,
which we supposed them to possess, has
not for its object to preserve them from
famine during the winter, a time in which
ants eat but little, especially grain, it is
not the less worthy of our regard, when
we consider its real purport.

That little mound which seems at the
first glance only an assemblage of mate-
rials confusedly scattered, is, however, an
invention as ingenious as simple to carry
off the waters from the ant-hill, to defend
it from the injuries of the air, and from
hostile attacks, and to regulate the heat

* Vide the description of the fallow ant, and par-
ticularly the note in the Appendix.

BS

6 ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS.

of the sun, or retain it in the interior.
‘The mass of the different materials of
which it is composed, always presents a
circular dome, whose base, often covered
with earth and pebbles, forms a cone,
above which the wooden portion of the
building is erected in the form of a
sugar loaf. But this is simply the exterior
covering of the ant-hill; the most con-
siderable portion is hidden from our sight,
descending to a depth of greater or less
extent. Avenues constructed very care-
fully of an irregular funnel shape conduct
from the roof to the interior. Their
number depends upon the population of
the nest and its extent. The entrance to
the nest is more or less considerable.
We sometimes find a spacious aperture at
the top, but more frequently, several
apertures of nearly equal size, around
-which are many narrow passages, symme-
trically and circularly disposed, which
extend even to the base of their habita-
tion.

These several apertures were necessary

ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS. 7

to give afree egress to the vast multitude
of labourers of which their colony is com-
posed. Not only do they work continu- |
ally on the outside of their nest, but dif-
fering very essentially from other species
who willingly remain in the interior shel-
tered from the sun, they prefer living in
the open air, and do not hesitate carrying —
on, even in our presence, the greater part
of their operations.

In the habitations of the yellow ant,
the dark ash-coloured ant, the sanguine
ant, the brown ant, &c. we never observe
the entrances of sufficient width to allow
their enemies easy access, or permit the
introduction of the rain. ‘They are co-
yered with a dome of earth, closed on all
sides, and have no outlet but near the
base, which is by along and tortuous pas-
sage that winds to the distance of several
feet in the grass. The diminutive size
of these apertures, at all times diligently
guarded within, prevents the entrance
of any insects or reptiles that may happen
to arrive there.

B 4

8 ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS.

- The fallow ants, collected in crowds
during the day on their nest, have no fear
of being disquieted in the interior, but
when, in the evening, they retire to their
quarters, no longer perceiving what passes
without, how are they screened from the -
accidents with which they are menaced ?
or how happens it that the rain does not
penetrate their abode, open as it is on
every side to its introduction? These
questions, simple as they are, do not ap-
pear to have engaged the attention of
naturalists. Have they not then foreseen
_the dangers to which these insects would
have been exposed, if that wisdom which
regulates. the universe had not provided
for their safety? Struck with these re-
flections, when I first noticed the fallow
ants, I directed my entire attention to
this subject, and soon acquired the inform-
ation I wanted. I remarked that their
habitations changed in appearance hourly,
and that the diameter of those spacious
avenues, where so many ants could freely
pass each other during the day, was, as

ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS. 9)

night approached, gradually lessened.
The aperture at length totally disappear-
ed, the dome was closed on all sides, and
the ants retired to the bottom of their nest.

In further noticing the apertures of
these ant-hills, I fully ascertained the
nature of the labour of its inhabitants,
of which I could not before even guess
the purport; for the surface of the nest
presented such a constant scene of agita-
tion, and so many insects were occupied
in carrying materials in every direction,
that the movement offered no other image
than that of confusion.

I saw then clearly that they were en-
gaged in stopping up their passages ; and
for this purpose, they at first brought for-
ward little pieces of wood, which they de-
posited near the entrance of those avenues
they wished to close, they placed them
above the aperture, and even sunk them
in the stubble; they then went to seek
other ligneous fragments which they dis-
posed above the first, but in a different
direction, and appeared to choose frag-

BO

10 ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS:

ments of less size in: proportion as the
work advanced. ‘They at length brought
in a number of dried leaves, and other
materials of an enlarged form, with which
they covered the roof. Is not this in
miniature the art of our builders when
they form the covering of any building?
Nature seems every where to have anti-
cipated the inventions of which we boast.
‘This is doubtless one of the most simple.

Our little insects, now in safety in their
nest, retire gradually to the interior
before the last passages are closed, one or
two only remain without, or concealed
behind the doors on guard, whilst the rest
either take their repose, or engage in dif-
ferent occupations in the most perfect
security.

I was impatient to know what took
place in the morning upon these ant-hills,
and therefore visited them at an early
hour. I found them in the same state
in which I had left them the preceding
evening. A few ants were wandering
.about on the surface of the nest, some

ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS. 11

others issued from time to time from
under the margin of the little roofs formed
at the entrance of the galleries: others
afterwards came forth who began remov-
ing the wooden bars that blockaded the
entrance, in which they readily succeed-
ed. This labour occupied them several
hours. ‘The passages were at length free,
and the materials with which they had
been closed scattered here and there over
the ant-hill.

Every day, morning and evening,
during the fine weather, I was a witness
tosimilar proceedings. On days of rain,
the doors of all the ant-hills remain closed.
When the sky is cloudy in the morning,
or rain is indicated, the ants, who seem
to be aware of it, open but in part their
several avenues, and immediately close
them when the rain commences. It
would appear from this they are not
insensible of the motive for which they
form these temporary closures.

To have an idea how the straw or
stubble roof is formed, let us take a view

BO

12 ARCHITECTURE OF ANTSas

of the ant-hill at its origin, when it is
simply a cavity in the earth. Some of its
future inhabitants are seen wandering
about in search of materials fit for the ex-
terior work, with which, though rather ir-
regularly, they cover up the entrance;
whilst others are employed in mixing the
earth, thrown up in hollowing the inte-
rior, with fragments of wood and leaves,
which are every moment brought in by
their fellow-assistants; and this gives a
certain consistence to the edifice, which
increases in size daily. Our little archi-
tects leave here and there cavities where
they intend constructing the galleries
which are to lead to the exterior, and as
they remove in the morning the barriers
placed at the entrance of their nest the
preceding evening, the passages are kept
entire during the whole time of its con-
struction. Wesoon observe it to become
convex ; but we should be greatly deceiv-
did we consider it solid. ‘This roof is
destined to include many apartments or
stories. Having observed the motions of

ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS. 18

these little masons through a pane of
glass which I adjusted against one of their
habitations, I am enabled to speak with
some degree of certainty upon the man-
ner in which they are constructed.

~ It is by excavating or mining the under
portion of their edifice that they form
their spacious halls, low indeed and of
heavy construction, yet sufficiently con-
venient for the use to which they are
appropriated, that of receiving at cer-
tain hours of the day the larve and

pupe. *

* The terms of Larva and Pupa are employed
to designate the intermediate states of existence in
the insect, on its passage from the egg to its becom-
ing a perfect animal, endowed with all the powers
of its race, the former being commonly known
under the appellation of Grub or Caterpillar, the
latter of Chrysalis or Aurelia. The ant remains,
according to Gould, in the first or larva state of
existence nearly a twelvemonth, in the state of
pupa about six weeks, and as a perfect insect 16
months. The time, however, they remain as larve

and pupz is, no doubt considerably i fluenced by
variations in the temperature, and other causes.
M. Reaumur hastened the disclosure of the butter-

14 ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS.

These halls have a free communica-
tion by galleries made in the same man-
ner. If the materials of which the ant-
hill is composed were only interlaced,
they would fall into a confused heap
every time the ants attempted to bring
them into regular order. This, however,
is obviated by their tempering the earth
with rain-water, which afterwards har-
dening in the sun, so completely and ef-
fectually bids together the several sub-
stances as to permit the removal of cer-
tain fragments from the ant-hill, without
any injury to the rest: it, moreover,
strongly opposes the introduction of the
rain. I never found, even after long and
violent rains, the interior of the nest

fly by keeping the aurelia or pupa in a warm room,
and retarded it by placing it in an ice house. Mr,
Kirby once kept one of the aphidivorous flies — the
whole term of whose existence, according to this
intelligent entomologist, does not, in the summer,
exceed at the very utmost six weeks — several
months in the state of larva; and, paradoxical as it
may seem, by simply neglecting to give it food.—T.

ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS. 15

wetted to more than a quarter of an
inch from the surface, provided it had
not been previously out of repair, or
deserted by its inhabitants.

The ants are extremely well sheltered
in their chambers, the largest of which is
placed nearly in the centre of the build-
ing; it is much loftier than the rest, and
traversed only by the beams that support
the ceiling : it is in this spot that all the
galleries terminate, and this forms, for
the most part, their usual residence.

As tothe under-ground portion, it can
only be seen when the ant-hill.is placed
against a declivity ; all the interior may
be then readily brought in view, by
simply raising up the straw roof. The
subterranean residence consists of a
range of apartments, excavated in the
earth, taking an horizontal direction.

That part of the architecture of fallow
ants, which equally obtains with the ma-
son-ants, and of which I shall soon have
occasion to speak, I shall not now stop
to describe, but pass on immediately to

16 ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS.

the labours of the latter, which will be
found to merit our athention:

2. ARCHITECTURE OF THE MASON-ANTS,

I term those mason-ants, whose nests, on
the exterior, have the appearance of hil-
locks of earth, without admixture of other
materials, whilst in the interior they
present a series of labyrinths, lodges,
vaults, and galleries, constructed with
great art.

There are several species of mason-

ants. The earth, of which their nest is
composed, is more or less compact. That
which ants of a certain size, such as the
ash-coloured and mining ants. employ,
appears to be less selected, and forms a
less fine paste, than that of which the
.brown, microscopic, and yellow ants form
their abode. It is, however, sufficiently
adapted to their use, and to the nature of
_the edifice they intend erecting.
To form a correct judgment of the in-
_terior arrangement or distribution of an
_ant-hill, it is necessary to select such as
15

ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS. 17

have not been accidentally spoiled, or
whose form has not been too much al-
tered by local circumstances; a slight
attention will then suffice to show, that
the habitation of the different species are
not all constructed after the same system.
Thus, the hillock raised by the ash-
coloured ants will always present thick
walls, fabricated with coarse earth, well-
marked stories, and large chambers, with
vaulted ceilings, resting upon a solid
base. We never observe roads or gal-
leries, properly so called, but large pas-
sages, of an oval form, and all around
considerable cavities and extensive em-
bankments of earth. We further notice,
that the little architects observe a certain
proportion between the large arched
ceilings and the pillars that are to sup-
port them.

The brown, one of the smallest of the
ants, is particularly remarkable for the
extreme finish of its work. Its body is
of a reddish shining brown, its head a
little deeper, and the antenne and feet

48 | ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS.

a little lighter in colour. The abdomen
is of an obscure brown, the scale narrow,
of a square form, and slightly scolloped.
The body is one line and two-fifths in
length. *

This ant, one of the most industrious
of its tribe, forms its nest of stories, four
or five lines in height. ‘The partitions
are not more than half a line in thick-
ness, and the substance of which they
are composed is so finely grained, that
the inner walls present one smooth, un-
broken surface. These stories are not
horizontal: they follow the slope of the
ant-hill, and lie one upon the other to
the ground-floor, which communicates
with the subterranean lodges. They are
not always, however, arranged with the
same regularity, for these ants do not fol-
low an invariable plan; it appears, on
the contrary, that nature has allowed
them a certain latitude in this respect,
_and that they can, according to circum-
stances, modify them to. their wish :—

* See the notes in the Appendix.

ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS. ly

but, however fantastical their habitations
may appear, we always observe they have
been formed by concentrical stories, On
examining each story separately, we ob-
serve a number of cavities or halls, lodges
of narrower dimensions, and long gal-
leries, which serve for general communi-
cation. The arched ceilings covering
the most spacious places are supported,
either by little columns, slender walls, or
by regular buttresses. We also notice
chambers that have but one entrance,
communicating with the lower story, and
large open spaces, serving as a kind of
carrefour, or cross-road, in which all the
streets terminate. Such isthe manner in
which the habitations of these ants are
constructed. Upon opening them, we
commonly find the apartments, as well
as the large open spaces, filled with adult
ants, and always observe their pup col-
lected in the apartments, more or less
near the surface. This, however, seems
regulated by the hour of the day, and
the temperature ; for in this respect these

20 ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS,

ants are endowed with great sensibility,
and know the degree of heat best adapted
for their young. The ant-hill contains
sometimes more than twenty stories in
its upper portion, and at least as many
under the surface of the ground. By
this arrangement the ants are enabled,
with the greatest facility, to regulate the
heat. When a too burning sun over-
heats their upper apartments, they with-
draw with their little ones to the bottom
of the ant-hill. The ground-floor becom-
ing, in its turn, uninhabitable, during
the rainy season, the ants of this species
transport what most interests them to the
higher stories, and it is there we find
them more usually assembled with their
pupz and eggs, when the subterranean
apartments are submerged.* Having as-

* De Azara informs us, that during the inunda-
tion of the low districts in South America, when the
ant-hills, which are usually about three feet in
height, are completely under water, the ants avail
themselves of an ingenious contrivance, to pre-
vent their being carried to any distance from their

ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS. 91

certained the internal arrangement of
their habitations, it was still an object of
discovery, how ants, working with a sub-
stance so hard, could trace out and finish
works so extremely delicate, with the as-
sistance only of their teeth, how they
could soften the earth, for the purpose
of mining, kneading, and building with
it, and what cement they employed to
unite its several particles into one mass.
Did it depend upon a sort of mucilage or
resin, or some other liquid furnished by
the ants themselves, similar to what the
mason-bee employs in building the nest
to which it gives so much solidity? I
ought, perhaps, to have analysed the
earth of which these ant-hills are com-

habitation. With this view, and for their greater
security, they collect into a compact mass, and
keep firm hold of each other, previously attaching
one of the extremities to some neighbouring plant,
or fixed point of support, leaving the other end free
and floating on the surface of the water, as long as
the inundation (which usually lasts a few days) con-
tinues—T,

92 ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS.

posed, but I was fearful of engaging im
difficulties that did not come within my
immediate province, and therefore kept
to the slow but sure method of observ-
ation, by which I hoped- to obtain the
same result.

I hastened, then, to observe one of
these ant-hills, until I should perceive
some change in its form.

The inhabitants of that I had selected
kept within during the day, or only went
out by the subterranean galleries, which
opened at some feet distance in the mea-
dow. ‘There were, however, two or
three small openings on the surface of
the nest, but I saw none of the labourers
pass out this way, on account of their
being too much exposed to the sun,
which these insects greatly dread.

This ant-hill, which had a round form,
rose in the grass at the border of a path,
and had sustained no injury. I soon per-
ceived that the freshness of the air and
the dew invited the ants to walk over
the surface of their nest; they began

ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS. 23

making new apertures; several ants might
be seen arriving at the same time, thrust-
ing their head from the entrances, mov-
ing about their antennee, and at length
adventuring forth to visit the environs.

This brought to my recollection a sin-
gular opinion of the ancients. ‘They be-
lieved that ants were occupied in their
architectural labours during the night,
when the moon was at its full.* This
idea was not, perhaps, without some
foundation, and although the moon had
doubtless no kind of influence on their
conduct, yet I perceived something true
in the observation.

* Aristotle affirmed, that ants worked in the
night, when the moon was at its full; Hist. Anim.
]. ix. c. 38. Pliny also alludes to their nocturnal
labours. ‘‘ Operaniur et noctu plena lund ; eadem
interlunio cessant.” Gould states that they employ
each moment by day and night, almost without in-
termission, unless hindered by excessive rains ; and
the author of a Memoir in the Transactions of the
French Academy, remarks, that the ants, he ov-
served, were so incessantly occupied during the
night, that it seemed as if they never slept !— T.

Q4: ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS,

Having then noticed the movements
of these insects during the night, I found
they were almost always abroad and en-
gaged about the dome of their habitation
after sun-set. ‘This was -directly the re-
verse of what I had observed in the con-
duct of the fallow ants, who only go out
during the day, and close their doors in
the evening. The contrast was still more
remarkable than I had previously sup-
posed, for upon visiting the brown ants,
some days after, during a gentle rain,
I saw all their architectural talents in full
play. |

As soon as the rain commenced, they

left, in great numbers, their subterranean
) residence, re-entered it almost immedi-
ately, and then returned, bearing between
their teeth pellets of earth, which they
deposited on the roof of their nest. I could
not, at first, conceive, what this was
meant for, but at length I saw little
walls start up on all sides with spaces
left between them. In several places,
columns, ranged at regular distances, an-

ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS. 95

nounced halls, lodges, and passages,
which the ants proposed establishing ; in
one word, it was the ebauche of a new
story.

I watched with a considerable degree
of interest, the most trifling movements of
my Masons, and found they did not work,
after the manner of wasps and hum-
' ble-bees, when occupied in construct-
ing a covering to their nest. The latter
sit as it were a-stride (se mettent pour ainsi
dire a cheval) the border or margin of this
covering, and take it between their teeth
to model and attenuate it according to
their wish. The wax of which it is com-
posed, and the papier which the wasp em-
ploys, moistened by some kind of glue,
are admirably adapted for this purpose ;
but.the earth (often possessing but little
tenacity) of which the ants make use,
must be worked up after some other
manner.

Each ant, then, carried between its
teeth the pellet of earth it had formed, by
scraping with the end of its mandibles,

c

26 ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS.

the bottom of its abode, which I have often
witnessed in open day. This little mass
of earth, being composed of particles but
just united, could be readily moulded as
the ants wished: thus, when they had
applied it to the spot where it was to rest,
they divided, and pressed against it with
their teeth, so as to fill up the little in-
equalities of their wall. The antenne
followed all their movements, passing
over each particle of earth as soon as it
was placed in its proper position. ‘The
whole was then rendered more compact,
by pressing it lightly with the fore-feet.
This work went on remarkably quick.
After having traced out the plan of their
masonry, in laying here and there found.
ations for the pillars and the partitions
they were about to erect, they gave them
more relief'by adding fresh materials. It
often happened that two little walls, which
were to form a gallery, were raised oppo-
site, and at a slight distance from each
other. When they had attained the height
of four or five lines, the ants busied them-

ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS. 27

selves in covering in the space left be-
tween them by a vaulted ceiling.
Qutting, then, their labours in the up-
per part of the building, as if they
judged all their partitions of sufficient
elevation, they affixed to the interior and
upper part of each wall, fragments of
moistened earth, in an almost horizontal
direction, and in such a way, as to form
a ledge which, by extension, would be
made to join that coming from the oppo-
site wall. These ledges were about half
a line in thickness; and the breadth
of the galleries was, for the most part,
about a quarter of an inch. Here several
vertical partitions were seen to form the
scaffolding of a lodge, which commu-
nicated with several corridors, by aper-
tures formed in the masonry; there, a
regularly formed hall, the vaulted ceiling
of which was sustained by numerous
pillars; further off might be recognised
the rudiments of one of those carrefours
of which we have before spoken, and: in
which several avenues terminate. ‘These
c 2

38 ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS.

parts of the Ant-hill were the most
spacious; the ants, however, did not
appear embarrassed in constructing the
ceiling to cover them in, although they
were often more than two inches in
breadth.

In the upper part of the angles formed
by the different walls, they laid the first
foundations of this ceiling, and from the
top of each pillar, as from so many centres,
a layer of earth, horizontal and slightly
convex, was carried forward to meet the
several portions coming from different
points of the large public thoroughfare.

This busy crowd of Masons, arriving
from all parts with the piece of mortar
they wish to add to the building, the
order they observe in their operations,
the harmony which prevails, and the
eagerness with which they avail them-
selves of the rain to increase the height
of their abode, present to the contempla-
tive observer a scene of considerable in-
terest. 1 NE |
~ J sometimes, however, laboured under

15

ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS. 29

an apprehension that the building could
not possibly resist its own weight, and
that such extensive ceilings, sustained
only by a few pillars, would fall into ruin
from the rain which continually fell upon
them ;—but I was quickly convinced of
their stability, from observing that the
earth, brought by these insects, adhered
at all points, on the slightest contact; and
that the rain, so far from lessening the
cohesion of its particles, appeared even to
increase it. Thus, instead of injuring the
building, it even contributed to render
it still more secure.

These parcels of moistened earth,
which are only held together by juxta-
position, require a fall of rain to cement
them more closely, and thus varnish over,
as it were, those places where the walls
and galleries remain uncovered. All in-
equalities in the masonry then disappear.
The upper part of these stories, formed
of several pieces brought together, pre-
sents but one single layer of compact
earth. ‘They require for their complete

c 3

80 ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS.

consolidation nothing but the heat of the
sun. It sometimes, however, happens
that a violent rain will destroy the
apartments, especially should they be
but slightly arched ; but under these cir-
cumstances the ants reconstruct them
with wonderful patience.

These different labours were carried
on at the same time, and were so closely
followed up in the different quarters,
that the Ant-hill received an additional
story in the course of seven or eight
hours. All the vaulted ceilings, being
formed upon a regular plan, and at equal
distances from one wall to the other, con-
stituted, when finished, but one single roof.
Scarcely had the ants finished this story
than they began constructing another; but
they had not time to finish it: the rain
ceasing before the ceiling was fully com-
pleted. They still, however, continued
their work for a few hours, taking advan-
tage of the humidity of the earth; but a
keen north wind soon sprung up, and
hastily dried the collected fragments,

ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS. $1

which, no longer possessing the same
adherence, readily fell into powder. ‘The
ants, finding their efforts ineffectual,
were at length discouraged, and aban-
doned their employment ; but what was
my astonishment, when I saw them des-
troy all the apartments that were yet un-
covered, scattering here and there over
the last story, the materials of which
they had been composed! These facts
incontestably prove, that they employ
neither gum, nor any kind of ce-
ment to bind together the several sub-
stances of their nest, but in place of this
avail themselves of the rain, to work or
knead the earth, leaving the sun and
wind to dry and consolidate it.* In the

* I was in the habit of visiting, almost daily, for
amonth, an extensive nest of Red Ants, of which
a large flat stone formed the roof.— During my
visits for the first three weeks, scarcely a drop of
rain had fallen, and the nest seemed to be consider-
ably injured by the continual falling in of loose
earth, which these little creatures with amazing
industry removed, whenever it happened any of the
avenues were blocked up. No attempt was ever
made towards reparation; but what was my sur-

Cc 4

32 ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS.

simplicity of these means, I recognised
the hand of Nature: however, I still
thought it necessary to make an experi-
ment to be convinced of the correctness
of these results. A few days after, I en-
deavoured to excite them to recommence
their labours by an artificial shower.
With this view, I took a very strong
brush which I plunged in water, and
passing my hand backwards and for-
wards over the hairs, produced upon the
surface of the Ant-hill a very fine dew.
The ants perceiving from the interior of
their dwelling, the humidity of the roof,

prise on visiting my little friends, after a two days’
heavy rain, to find, that the repairs were already
completed, and that the upper surface of their
habitation presented as smooth a surface as ifa
trowel had been passed over it; yet all their work
they had industriously effected by kneading with
the rain-water, the loose earth into a sort of paste.
From the nest being situated in the midst of an
extensive heath, where there could be no supply
of water, and from its remaining unrepaired during
the dry weather, it amounts to a full conviction,
that Ants employ no other cement than water, in
the construction of their varied habitations. — T.

ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS. 33

came out and passed rapidly over the
surface ; the sprinkling was continued ;
the Masons were deceived. ‘They went
to the bottom of the Nest to pro-
vide themselves with little masses of
Earth, which they afterwards brought
and deposited on the roof; they then
constructed walls and chambers; in a
word, a complete story was erected in
the course of a few hours. ‘This experi-
ment I frequently repeated, and always
with the same success. It is in the Spring
more particularly, that the Mason Ants
avail themselves of the rain when they
wish to enlarge the boundaries of their
nest. Night even does not arrest their
progress. I have often noticed in the
morning stories that had been com-
pletely erected during the night.

The ants, not content with giving addi-
tional elevation to their abode, hollow out,
in the earth, apartments still-more spa-
cious ; the materials thus obtained, are, as
before stated, employed in the: exterior
construction. ‘The art of these insects,

co

84 ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS.

therefore, consists in their executing, at
the same time, two contrary operations,
the one of mining, the other of building,
making the former subservient to the
jatter; and what is still as singu-
lar, the same talent is manifested in
these excavations, as in that portion of
the building above ground. ‘The humi-
dity which penetrates to the bottom of
their nest, is doubtless of great assistance
to them in these labours. *

* It may not be uninteresting after this account
of the labours of the Mason-Ants, to give a sketch
of the manner in which the Termites, or what have
been termed by travellers, White Ants, so abun-
dant in Africa, construct their dwelling. Compared
with the Architects, their habitations are of an as-
tonishing magnitude ; they frequently exceed twelve
feet in height, and are so firmly cemented as to
bear the pressure of several men at the same time.
It often happens that, whilst.a herd of wild
cattle are quietly grazing below, one of their body
is stationed on them as sentinel, to give timely no-
tice of approaching danger. The Termites begin
constructing their habitations, by raising, at little
distances from each other, several turrets of com-
pact clay in the shape of sugar-loaves: upon these
they erect others; those in the centre run to the

ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS. 85

3. ARCHITECTURE OF THE DARK ASH-
COLOURED ANTSe

These Ants, which are fully described
in the Appendix, are distinguished, ac-

—

greatest height ; they afterwards cover in the spaces
between them, and then take down the sides of all
the inner turrets, leaving only the upper portion to
form the cupola or dome, making use of the clay
they thus procure, in the formation of the several
chambers intended for magazines, nurseries, Xc.
The nurseries are entirely composed of wooden
materials, enclosed in chambers of elay, usually
half an inch in width, ranged around, and as close
as possible to the royal apartment. The royal
chamber, which, with the rest, are arched over, occu-
pies as nearly as possible the centre of the building,
and is on a level with the surface of the ground ;
it is at first only an inch in length, but increases
in size with that of the Queen, until it extends to
six or more inches. In this chamber the King and
Queen are rétained close captives ; it is impossible
they can ever quit it; the entrance only allowing of
the passing and repassing of the Soldiers and
Labourers (the Queen, in the Jast stage of her
pregnancy, is 1000 times the weight of the King,
and equal in bulk to about 20,000 Labourers,
although, on her first appearance as a winged insect,
she equalled only in bulk about 30 Labourers,—
her abdomen increases from half an inch to three
imches in length, and she lays, according to Smeath-

c 6

36 ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS.

cording to Latreille, by their having the
body, head, and abdomen, of a shining
dark ash-colour, the base of the antennze
and the feet reddish, the scale large and
nearly triangular, and three small ocellé
or simple eyes.

The Ash-coloured Ants build in aman-
ner very different from the Brown Ants.

man, as many as 80,000 eggs in the course of 24
hours: hence the necessity for the numerous at-
tendants by whom she is continually surrounded.) In
an Ant-Hill of such extensive size, and where there
is such an infinity of chambers to accommodate its
numerous inhabitants, there must be of necessity
a vast number of subterraneous and winding
passages. These passages, which conduct to the
upper parts of the dome, are carried in a spiral
manner round the building, for the Labourers find
it extremely difficult to ascend in a less circuitous
direction. Very frequently, however, to shorten the
distance to the upper nurseries, where they have
to take the eggs, they project an arch of about ten
inches in length, and half an inch in breadth,
grooved or worked into steps, on its upper surface
to allow of a more easy passage. When these
insects quit their nest on any expedition, they con-
struct covered galleries of clay which sometimes.
run to a considerable distance, and under this they
continue their extensive and highly dreaded depre-
dations. — T.

ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS. 37

We have already seen from the descrip-
tion of their dwelling, that, in comparison
to the latter, it is exceedingly simple and
heavy in its construction. ‘This simpli-
city, however, was better adapted to my
object,—that of examining, if possible,
how many ants could concur in the ex-
ecution of the same design, and how far
they appeared to understand each other
in the general progress of their labour ;—
that of discovering also, if they acted in
concert, or independently of each other ;
of their own accord, or from some gene-
ralimpulse. I do not flatter myself that
I have solved these important questions,
but the facts I am about to adduce, will,
at least, serve to elucidate this subject.
When the Ash-coloured Ants seem de-
sirous to give greater elevation to their
dwelling, they commence, by placing over
the roof a thick layer of earth, which they
bring from the interior. It is here they
trace en creux et en relief, the plan of a
new story; they, at first, form here and
there little dykes more or less close to

38 ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS.

each other, and of a breadth proportioned
to the use for which they are designed:
they give them nearly equal depth, for
the most part equalling their breadth ;
the masses of earth left- between them,
serve afterwards, for the foundation of
the inner walls. Having removed all the
useless earth from the bottom of each
chamber, and reduced to their proper
thickness the foundation of the walls, the
architects have nothing more to do, than
to increase the height of their building,
and cover over with a ceiling the several
apartments.

After witnessing the manner in which
these ant-hills are constructed, I was
aware that the best and only mode of at-
taining a correct knowledge of their or-
ganization, was that of following indi-
vidually the conduct of the Labourers
engaged in erecting them. My journals
are filled with observations of this nature.
1 extract afew that seem to possess some
interest. I shall at present describe the
operations of a single ant that I ob-

ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS. 89

served sufficiently long to satisfy my
curiosity.

One rainy day, I observed a Labourer
digging the ground near the aperture
which gave entrance to the ant-hill. It
placed in a heap the several fragments it
had scraped up, and formed them into
small pellets, which it deposited here and
there upon the nest. It returned con-
stantly to the same place, and appeared
to have a marked design, for it laboured
with ardour and perseverance. I re-
marked a slight furrow, excavated in the
ground in a straight line, representing
the plan of a path or gallery, The La-
bourer, the whole of whose movements
fell under my immediate observation,
gave it greater depth and breadth, and
cleared out its borders; and I saw, at
length—in which I could not be deceived
—that it had the intention of establish-
ing an avenue which was to lead from
one of the stories to the under-ground
chambers. ~This path, which was about
two or three inches in length, and formed

40 ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS.

by a single ant, was opened above, and
bordered on each side by a buttress of
earth: its concavity en forme de gouttiere
was of the most perfect regularity ; for
the architect had not left an atom too
much. The work of this ant was so well
followed and understood, that I could al-
most to a certainty guess its next proceed-
ing, and the very fragment it was about
toremove. At the side of the opening
where this path terminated, was a second
opening to which it was necessary to
arrive by some road. The same ant en-
gaged in and executed alone this under-
taking. It furrowed out and opened
another path, parallel to the first, leaving
between each a little wall of three or four
lines in height.

Those ants who lay the foundation of
a wall, achamber, or gallery, from work-
ing. separately, occasion now and then a
want of coincidence in the parts of the
same or different objects. Such ex-
amples are of no unfrequent occurrence,
but they by no means embarrass them.

ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS. 4}

What follows proves that the workman,
on discovering his error, knew how to
rectify it.

A wall had been erected with the view
of sustaining a vaulted ceiling, still in-
complete, that had been projected from
the wall of the opposite chamber. The
workman who began constructing it, had
given it too little elevation to meet the
opposite partition upon which it was to
rest. Had it been continued on the ori-
ginal plan, it must infallibly have met the
wall at about one-half of its height, and
this it was necessary toavoid. ‘This state
of things very forcibly claimed my atten-
tion ; when one of the ants, arriving at
the place, and visiting the works, appeared
to be struck by the difficulty which pre-
sented itself; but this it assoon obviated,
by taking down the ceiling and raising
the wall upon which it reposed. It then,
in my presence, constructed a new ceiling
with the fragments of the former one.

When the ants commence any under-
taking, one would suppose that they

4.2 ' ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS,

worked after some preconceived idea,
which indeed would seem verified by the
execution. Thus, should any ant dis-
cover upon the nest, two stalks of plants,
which lie cross-ways, a disposition favour-
able to the construction of a lodge; or
some little beams that may be useful in
forming its angles and sides, it examines
the several parts with attention, then dis-
tributes with much sagacity and address
parcels of earth, in the spaces, and along
the stems, taking from every quarter ma-
terials adapted to its object, sometimes,
not caring to destroy the work that others
had commenced ; so much are its motions
regulated by the idea it has conceived,
and upon which it acts, with little atten-
tion to all else around it. It goes and
returns, until the plan is sufficiently un-
derstood by its companions.

In another part of the same ant-hill,
several fragments of straw seemed ex-
pressly placed to form the roof of a large
house; a workman took advantage of
this disposition: these fragments lying

ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS. 43

horizontally, at half an inch distance
from the ground, formed, in crossing
each other, an oblong parallelogram.
The industrious insect commenced, by
placing earth in the several angles of this
carpentering work, and all along the little
beams of which it was composed. ‘The
same workman afterwards placed several
rows of the same materials against each
other, when the roof became very dis-
tinct. On perceiving the possibility of
profiting by another plant, to support a
vertical wall, it began laying the founda-
tions of it ; other ants having by this time
arrived, finished in common what this
had commenced. *

* I have often been surprised at the ingenuity of
these little creatures, in availing themselves of con-
tiguous blades of grass, stalks of corn, &c., when
they wish to enlarge the boundaries of their abode.
As these are usually met with in the erect position,
they are admirably calculated for pillars; they,
therefore coat them over with a fine paste of earth,
giving them, by additional layers, the solidity they
judge necessary for the work on which they are
engaged: they then leave them to be consolidated
by the wind, and afterwards spring a number of

4,4, ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS,

From these observations, and a thou-
sand similar, I am convinced that each
ant acts independently of its companions.
The first who conceives a plan of easy
execution, immediately gives the sketch
of it; others have only to continue what
this has begun, judging, from an inspec-
tion of the first labours, in what they
ought to engage. They can all lay down
plans, and continue to polish or retouch
their work as occasion requires. ‘The
water furnishes the cement they require,
and the sun and air harden the materials
of which their edifice is composed. They
have no other chisel than their teeth, no
other compass than their antennee, and no
other trowel than their fore-feet, of
which they make use in an admirable

arches, from pillar to pillar, and thus form an ex-
tensive saloon. Should they be, at any time, in
want of small apartments, they have only to pre-
pare a quantity of moistened earth, and by placing
this between the pillars, and carrying it up to the
roof, leaving here and there an aperture for en-
trance, their object is completely attained,.—T.

ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS. 45

manner, to affix and consolidate the
moistened earth.

These, then, are the material and me-
chanical means which they employ in
their building. In following an instinct
purely mechanical, they might execute
with precision, a geometrical and invari-
able plan, construct walls of equal length
and breadth, vaulted ceilings, whose
curve would only require a servile obezts-
sance, and we should have been but mo-
derately surprised by their industry : but
to form these irregular domes, composed
of so many stories; to distribute in a con-
venient, yet varied manner, the apart-
ments they include, and to seize the most
favourable time for their labours, but
especially to vary them according to cir-
cumstances; to profit by the points
d’appui that may present themselves; and
to judge of the advantage of such and
such operations, is it not necessary they
should be endowed with faculties closely
approaching intelligence, and that, far
from considering them as automatons,
Nature allows them to perceive the inten-

46 ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS.

tion of those labours in which they have
been engaged ?* | |

I could readily bring forward number-
less examples of the industry of ants, in
still mentioning after what manner seve-
ral other species construct their abode ;
but, not to abuse or weary the patience of
my readers, I shail not enter into a de-
tail of the labours of the Field Ants, who
build little chambers, one above the
other, along the stems of plants, and who
can, in time of need, connect grains of
sand, by juxta-position alone, or by the
admixture of a little moistened earth;
nor of those of the Sanguine Ant, who
are enabled to form from earth, dry
leaves, and other materials, a compact
tissue, difficult to break, and impe-
netrable to water; nor of those covered

* For several curious particulars relative to the
instinct of insects, I refer to the Introduction to
Entomology, by Messrs. Kirby and Spence, vol. ii.
p. 465.—This work I cannot too strongly recom-
mend to the notice of my readers; since it abounds
in a variety of interesting information, and pos-
sesses the no small advantage of being ig
amusing as instructive. — T | |

ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS. 4:7

galleries, which the Brown Ants construct
with earth, conducting from their nest
to the feet of trees, and sometimes even
to the origin of the branches, for the
purpose of arriving with greater secu-
rity at the places where they find their
food. |

4. ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS THAT FORM
THEIR HABITATION IN TIMBER. *

Is it nota matter of astonishment, that
Nature should have given to insects of

* «¢ Some ants” says Kirby,’”’ form their nests
entirely of the leaves of trees. One of these was
observed by Sir Joseph Banks in New South Wales,
which was formed by glueing together several
leaves as large as ahand. To keep these leaves in
a proper position, thousands of ants united their
strength, and if driven away, the leaves spring
back with great violence.” Latreille speaks of an
ant which is met with at Cayenne (F. bispinosa) that
forms its nest of a great quantity of down, which
it removes from the seeds of a species of the cotton-
tree. Madame Merian, in her ‘“ JInsectes de Su-
rinam,” speaks of an ant, which, in Tobago, is
called the parasol ant. They are in the habit of cut-
ting out circular pieces from the leaves of trees and
plants (in thisrespect resembling the apis papaveris).
aad carrying them off to their nest. When thus

48 ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS.

the same genus, manners so varied, and
an industry so widely different ? Ants
furnish us with one of the most striking
examples of this kind. We have just
completed a sketch of the several species
of Mason-ants; each building in a dif-
ferent manner, and offering some strik-
ing peculiarities in the style and mode
of their architecture. ‘That of the Fal-
low-ants is founded upon different prin-
ciples, and the industry of those who ex-
cavate their dwelling in wood, has no
point of resemblance with that of the
species of which we have lately treated.
This tribe of ants includes several spe-
cies; and we still observe in their archi-
tectural labours very sensible shades of
difference: all these insects enter into
the first of the nine divisions into which

engaged, they bear some resemblance to individuals
walking with parasols, hence their name. Smeath-
man informs us, that one species of the Termites,
or whatare commonly known under the name of White
Ants (7. arborum) builds itsnest among the branches
of trees; and we learn from M. de Laubere, that in
that part of Siam which is exposed to inundations,
all the ants construct their habitations in trees. —T.

ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS. 49

Latreille has distributed ants, it includes
the Brown, the Ash-coloured, the Fallow,
the Mining, the Sanguine, the Fuli-
ginous, and the Yellow Ant, &c. These
_ants possess the same exterior organs, a
similarity of the means employed in con-
structing their dwellings, and resem-
blances in figure, which have occasioned
them to be placed under the same di-
vision; their instinct, however, places
them at a considerable distance from
each other, plainly showing that we can-
not always form a correct judgment of
the manners and customs of insects from
analogy.

The labours of those ants that inhabit
trees, or what we may term ‘Timber Ants,
are less open to general observation than
those already described, and have, in
consequence, received but little attention
from naturalists.

The ant holding the first rank in this
division, is, the Fuliginous, so called on
account of its colour. It is of a shining
black, and is two lines in length; its re-

D

50 ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS.

publics, composed of a great number of
individuals, are less common than those
of which we have hitherto spoken.

Let us figure to ourselves the interior
of'a tree entirely sculptured or hollowed
out, consisting of numberless stories,
more or less horizontal, whose floors and
ceilings are at five or six lines’ distance
from each other, and as thin as a card,
supported at one time by vertical parti-
tions, forming an infinity of chambers ;
at another time, by a series of small slen-
der columns, allowing us to observe be-
tween them the extent of an almost en-
tire story; the whole, composed of a
blackish, and as it were smoked wood ;
‘and we shall have a just idea of the cities
of these ants.

The greater number of the vertical
partitions, which divide each story inte
compartments, are parallel; they follow
the course of the igneous layers, and are
always concentrical, which gives to their
work some degree of regularity. The
floors, generally speaking, are horizontal.

14

ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS. ol

The little columnsare from one totwolines
in thickness, more or less round, of a
height equal to that of the story they
support, larger above and below than in
the middle, a little flattened at the capital
and base, and ranged in regular lines,
since they have been worked out in the
parallel partitions. What numerous apart-
ments! What a series of lodges, halls
and corridors do these insects not form
by their own unsupported industry ; and
what labour in so great an undertaking
does it not cost them!

The wood, in which ants of this species
excavate these labyrinths, takes a blackish
hue: —does this arise from the extrava-
sated fluids of the tree entering into
combination with the external air, or
from theemanation of theants themselves,
the odour of which may perhaps have
some influence; or do the layers of wood,
exposed by these insects, undergo any
decomposition from combining with the
formic acid? I cannot decide this ques-
- tion; but I rest well assured, that the
D2

LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

52 ARCHITECTURE OF ANS.

wood hewn by these insects, is always
blackish externally, and even takes the
same colour internally, provided it be
very thin, preserving only its natural
colour when it has any degree of thick-
ness. It appears that the oak, willow,
and other trees in which these ants esta-
blish themselves, equally take these co-
lours. I have often’ observed several
other species of ants lodged in the inte-
rior of trees, but the wood never present-
ed the same appearance. I have also
often noticed at the foot of those which
were inhabited by Fuliginous Ants, a very
abundant and blackish liquid : —to what
must this be attributed? The vegeta-
tion of these trees does not appear in the
slightest degree affected by the labours
of these insects.

It would be a highiy ‘acai sight,
could we observe ants occupied in carv-
ing the wood in which they fix their resi-
dence, we might then learn the origin of
the black tint with which it is imbued ;
but the labourers of this species working

ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS. 58

always in the interior of trees, and de-
sirous of being screened from observation,
precludes every hope, on our part, of fol-
lowing them in their several occupations.
I tried every expedient I could devise to
surmount this difficulty; I endeavoured
to accustom these ants to live and work
under my inspection, but all my efforts
were unsuccessful ; they even abandoned
the most considerable portion of their
nest to seek some new asylum, and spurn-
ed the honey and sugar I offered them for
nourishment. I was now, of necessity,
limited to the inspection alone of these
edifices; but by decomposing some of
the fragments with care, I hoped to ac-
quire some knowledge of their organiza-
tion. Here, we perceive horizontal gal-
leries, hidden in great part by their walls,
which follow the circular direction of
the ligneous layers; there, parallel gal-
Jeries, separated by extremely thin
partitions, having no communication
except by a few oval apertures. Such
is the nature of these works, remark-
able for their delicacy and lightness.
» $s

54 ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS.

In other fragments we notice avenues,
opened laterally, including portions of
walls and transverse partitions, erected
here and there, within the galleries, so
as toform separate chambers. When the
work is further advanced, we always ob-
serve round holes, encased, as it were, be-
tween two pillars, cut out in the same
wall. ‘These holes in course of time be-
come square, and the pillars, originally
arched at both ends, are worked into
regular columns by the chisel of our
sculptors. This, then, is the second
specimen of their art. ‘This portion of
the edifice will probably remain in this
state. |

But here are fragments differently
wrought, in which these same partitions,
pierced now in every part, and hewn
skilfully, are transformed into colonnades,
which sustain the upper stories, and leave
a free communication throughout their
whole extent. We can readily conceive
how parallel galleries hollowed out upon
the same plan, and the sides taken down,

ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS. 535

leaving only from space to space what is
necessary to sustain their ceilings, may
form an entire story; but as each has
been pierced separately, the flooring can-
not be very level: this, however, the ants
turn to their advantage, since these fur-
rows are better adapted to retain the
larvae that may be placed there.

The stories constructed in the great
roots offer greater irregularity than those
in the very body of the tree, arising,
either from the hardness and interlacing
of the fibres, which renders the labour
more difficult, and obliges the labourers
to depart from their accustomed manner,
or from their not observing in the extre-
mities of their edifice the same arrange-
ment as in the centre : whatever it be, we
still find horizontal stories, and numerous
partitions. If the work be less regular,
it becomes more delicate ; for the ants,
profiting by the hardness and solidity of
the material, give to their building an
extreme degree of lightness. Ihave seen
fragments of from eight to ten inches in

D 4

56 ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS-

length and of equal height, formed of
wood as thin as paper, containing a num-
ber of apartments, and presenting the
most singular appearance. At the en-
trance of these apartments, worked out
with so much care, are very considerable
openings ; but, in place of chambers, and
extensive galleries, thelayers of the wood
are hewn in arcades, allowing the ants a
free passage in every direction. These
may be regarded as the gates or vestibules.
conducting to the several lodges.

Fig. 3. and 4., Pl. I., give but a very
imperfect idea of the labours of these
insects. The first represents a fragment
taken from the trunk of an oak inhabited
by Fuliginous Ants ; the second, a small
portion of their nest, taken from the
roots of the same tree. To judge’ pro-
perly of these fragments, we should place
them in every position, we shall then
better observe their singular organiz-
ation.

The Red Ant, a little larger than the
preceding, forms a lodging in trees, very —

ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS. 57

analagous to the above, but upon a much
smaller scale. ‘Their dwelling consists of
stories more or less developed ; some di-
vided into little chambers or lodges, the
walls of which are remarkably thin;
others sustained by an infinity of little
columns, resembling, in size and colour,
these of which we have already spoken.
The wood, however, is not blackened,
as is the case with that excavated by the
Fuliginous Ants, but retains its original
colour. It is commonly less hard, and
of the consistence of cork.

But what is most remarkable in the
history of Red Ants is, that they are
not only carvers, but even skilful ma-
sons. They more frequently fix their
residence in the earth. This is not,
however, the only species that can, in
time of need, display more than one ta-
lent inthis department. We are about
to notice two kinds of ants which also
enjoy this privilege, the Ethiopian and
the Yellow Ant. They have also an art
peculiar to them, of which I have not

Dd

58 ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS.

yet treated, and which must be regarded
as belonging to the architecture of ants.

5. ARCHITECTURE OF THOSE ANTS THAT
FORM THEIR RESIDENCE OF SAW-DUST,
DECAYED TIMBER, &c.

The Ethiopian Ants, thus named, on
account of their jet-black colour, hollow
out extensive lodges and long galleries in
the oldest trees; but if their works are
proportioned to their size, which is
greater than that of other ants, they
scarcely represent the infancy of the art
by the manner in which they are exe-
cuted. What is most remarkable in their
industry is, the use they make of the
wood fallen into powder at the foot of
the tree they inhabit, to stop up every
chink in the flooring of their houses, to
close useless passages, and to make com-
partments in those labyrmths which are
too spacious.

The Yellow, one of the mason ants,
shows great skill in the employment of
this substance, when it establishes its re-

ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS. 5Y

sidence in a hollow tree; it constructs
entire stories with decayed wood, select-
ing the finest particles, which, on being
mixed up at the bottom of the tree with
a little earth and spider’s web, forms a
mass of the consistency of papier mache.
This industry recalls to mind that of
wasps, as the labours of the Mason and
Timber Ants bring to our recollection
those of the Mason and Timber Bees.

The class of hymenopterous insects,
the richest of all in varied industry, in
original manners and customs, in curious
instinct, offers, continually, similarities
and contrasts ; connections between ge-
nera the farthest removed, and striking
differences between species the most ap-
proximate. The moral condition of these
insects does not appear to follow their
physical condition ; a truth of some im-
portance to animal physiology.

60

-

CHAP. It.

OF THE EGGS, LARVZ, AND PUPA OF
ANTS. i!

Tue exterior of ant-hills, their form and
construction, have hitherto entirely oc-
cupied us: it was, however, necessary to
commence by establishing the ants in
their abode previous to describing the
rest of their labours. The object which
will now evidently create some interest,
is that solicitude the workers evince for
the object of their charge, and the mater-
nal attention they bestow upon them
from the period of their quitting the ege
to that of their complete developement. *,

* It would be perhaps more regular to speak of
the fecundation of ants, before making known the
care and affection they evince for their young.
This plan, from which we could not well depart, in
speaking of insects that lead a solitary life, is not

EGGS, &c. OF ANTS. 61

Although several naturalists have studied
the metamorphosis of ants, and described
the principal circumstances connected
with it, yet we are about to examine, un-
der new relations, the developement and
education of these insects in their differ-
ent states. ‘The history of the egg had
entirely escaped their researches, as well
as several particulars in the mialony of the
pupe and larve.

My predecessors, not having madeuse of
a glazed apparatus to observe what passed
in the interior of ant-hills, had but very
rarely seen these insects engaged in their
household occupations; and this was not so

so natural, when treating of numerous and perma-
nent republics, such as those of ants. It would
have been difficult to have mentioned every circum-
stance connected with the reproduction of the
species, before describing the interior of their habi-
tations, and the method I found the most success-
ful in my observations. The education of their
young, being the chief end of all their labours,
offers, in part, a picture of the manners of these in-
dustrious insects. It is for this reason, the plan I
now follow appeared the best to elucidate subse-
quent remarks.—A.

62 EGGS, &c. OF ANTS.

easy of accomplishment as it at first ap-
peared. |

These insects, although possessing so
little timidity, and regardless, as it con-
cerns themselves, of the several changes
in the weather, evince the greatest con-
cern for their little ones. For beings, so
delicately formed, they dread the slight-
est variations of the atmosphere, are
alarmed at the least danger which threat-
ens them, and seem particularly anxious
to withdraw them from our notice.

I was in my first attempts continually
disappointed, from the great repugnance
they manifested in allowing the light to
penetrate their abode: whenever I at-
tempted to glaze their apartments, or to
lay open to view any of their halls or pas-
sages, if they did not completely abandon
them, they at least prevented me from
following them in their in-door labours.
At one time they would darken, by a
heap of different materials, all the halls
which admitted the light; at another
time, as if conscious that the glass, not-

rcos, &c. OF ANTS. 63

withstanding its transparency, could
guard them from the external air, and
that nothing was wanting to render it a
true wall, but the power of excluding
that glaring light, at all times so disagree-
able to them, they preserved entire all the
galleries contiguous to it, taking the sole
precaution of covering it over with a
layer of moistened earth, which efiec-
tually hindered further observation.

Thus disappointed, I employed a me-
thod more simple, though more effec-
tual:—I removed a portion of the ant-
hill, and then placed over the remainder
a thin flat board inclined to the south ;
the ants, attracted by the heat brought
their little ones to this place. By re-
moving this outside shutter or contrevent,
I could ascertain the progress in their
growth, although the workers, on being
disturbed, hastened to convey them to
their under-ground quarters.

I was often obliged to vary the means
I employed ; for the ants, soon wearied
by my visits, still baffled all my efforts,

64 EGGS, &C. OF ANTS,

by making a true wall of earth behind
the contrevent. After having for some
time attended to the manners and habits
of these insects, I found that we might
accustom them by degrees to suffer the
entrance of the light in their abode; but
it was necessary, notwithstanding, to use
much - caution. What succeeded with
me the best, was that of forming an
oblong opening in the middle of a table,
and affixing underneath, a double frame,
glazed: on its two longest sides, and
opened only at the upper part, which
communicated with this aperture. ‘These
frames (fig. 1. Pl. I.) being furnished with
shutters, permitted me, either to observe
the ants, or to favour them in their taste
for obscurity. This done, I scattered all
the materials of a nestof Fallow Ants upon
the table, and left them at liberty to ar-
range them at the bottom of the glazed
box, which they did in such a manner,
that it was easy to observe all their gal-
leries, and the apartments to which they
led. Jat length covered over the whole

EGGS, &C. OF ANTS. 65

of the materials with a large bell-glass, in
order that I might witness the move-
ments of my prisoners, as well inside as
on the outside, and at the same time
guard against their escape. But when I
saw they were accustomed to their fate,
and did not seek to leave their prison, I
allowed them free issue from under the
bell-glass, and the liberty of running over
the platform upon which it rested, taking
only the precaution of plunging the feet
of the table in vessels filled with water,
to arrest the ants in their passage, should
they attempt to escape.

This apparatus, and several others of
which the explanation would be long and
tedious, had all the success I wished. I
observed, with much pleasure, that the
ants continued to take care of the larve,
which proved, that in taking them, in
some respects, from the state of nature, I
had not too much disturbed them. This
gave me reason to hope, that I should
observe, in its greatest extent, all the care
they took of the rising generation,

66 EGGS, &c. OF ANTS.

I did not, however, always keep to
these artificial means. I compared, as
often as possible, the conduct of my pri-
soners, with that of those ants inhabiting
and ranging about the fields, and as I
never remarked any sensible difference in
their manner of acting, I concluded I
could trust the results obtained by means
of my glazed apparatus.

Let us now open the shutter which
conceals from us the interior of the ant-
hill, and let us see what is passing
there.

Here, the pups are heaped up by
hundreds in their spacious lodges ; there,
the larvee are collected together, and
guarded by workers. In one place, we
observe an assemblage of eggs, in another
place, some of the workers seem occupied
in following an ant of a larger size than
the rest ; — this is the mother, or at least
one of the females, for there are always
several in each ant-hill ; — she lays as she
walks, and the guardians, by whom she is
surrounded, take up her eggs, or seize

EGGS, &c. OF ANTS. 67

them at the very moment of her laying
them; they collect them together, and
carry them in little heaps in their
mouths. * On looking a little closer, we
find that they turn them continually with
their tongues ; it even appears, they pass
them one after the other between their
teeth, and thus keep them constantly
moistened. Such is the first apergu
which my glazed apparatus offered.
Having directed my close attention to
these eggs, I remarked they were of
different sizes, shades, and forms. The
smallest were white, opake, and cylindri-
cal; the largest, transparent, and slightly
arched at both ends; those of a middle
size were semi-transparent. In holding
them up to the light, I observed a sort of
white oblong cloud; in some, a trans-

* The eggs of ants are so remarkably minute,
that there would seem an absolute necessity of
their being held together by some glutinous matter,
otherwise, it would render the removal of such small
bodies in the mandibles of ants almost impossible ;
the mandibles being so constituted as not to be
brought into that close contact necessary for this
operation, — T,

68 . kEGG6s, &c. oF ANTS.

parent point might be remarked at the
superior extremity; in others, a clear
zone above and underneath the little
cloud. The largest presented a single
opake and whitish point in their interior.
There were some whose whole body was
so remarkably clear, as to allow of my
observing very distinctly the rings... In
fixing my attention more closely upon
the latter, I observed the egg open, and .
the larva appear in its place.

Having compared these eggs with
those just laid, I constantly found the
latter of a milky whiteness, completely
opake, and smaller by one-half; so that
Ihad no reason to doubt of the eggs of
ants receiving a very considerable in-
crease in size; that in elongating, they
become transparent, but do not at this
time disclose the form of the worm which
is always arched.

To be convinced of the truth of this
statement, I viewed these eggs with the
microscope; I also measured them, and
having separated them from each other,

Eccs, &c. OF ANTS. 69

found the longest to be those only in
which the worms were disclosed in my
my presence. If I removed them from
the workers, before they had attained their
full length and transparency, they dried
up, and the worms never quitted them.
Isit, then, to the care which the workers
take in passing them across their mouths,
that we must attribute the secret of their
preservation ? Do these eggs require this
humidity, or do they absorb a part of it,
to furnish nourishment to the little worms
they contain ? It appears at Jeast highly
probable; and the observations of M.
Reaumur give weight to this opinion.
I have discovered in his writings, that
there are other eggs, which also increase
in size,—as those lodged in the galls of
different trees, which are occasioned by
Cynips*, or other insects of the same kind.

* To these insects we are indebted for that valu-
able article of commerce, the gall-nut. The Cyniys
is furnished with a finely-pointed instrument, with
which it wounds the leaves and other parts of the
tree, for the sake of depositing its eggs. The
puncture of the leaves, &c. gives rise to those excres-

70 EGGS, &c. OF ANTS.

«It ought not,” says this exact and judi-
cious observer, ‘‘to bepassed by in silence,
thatthe egg which I found in the gall
appeared to me considerably larger than
the eggs of the same species, when they
proceed from the body of the fly, or even
when they are taken from the body of
the impregnated or mother-fly, near the
time of their being laid. ‘The whole of
those I took from the abdomen of the
flies I killed were remarkably small ; it
therefore appeared certain, that the egg
would have increased, and indeed had in-
creased, in the gall.

We are only in the habit of observing
eggs surrounded by a covering incapable

cences termed galls, which not only form the habit-
ation, for a considerable period, of the infant insect,
but serve it the whole time of its imprisonment for
food. On examining the galls, some will be found
to have an opening in them; these are they, from
which the fly has escaped : others, that want this
aperture, will be found to contain the insect,
either in its larva, pupa, or imago state; for it ap-
pears these several changes, at Icast with some of
the species, take place within the body of the
gall. — T.

EGGS, &c. OF ANTs. 71

of extension; but why is it that those
egos, which nature has enclosed, in a
flexible membrane, do not increase ?
The envelope of the egg may, in this in-
stance, be compared to the membrane
which includes the human foetus, and
those of quadrupeds.

Nature has formed the eggs of some
other insects in such a manner, that they
are also capable of increase: such are,
according to M. Vallisnieri, the eggs of
the Tenthredo, which produce those
larvee that feed upon the rose. *

These remarkable examples authorise
me in admitting an increase in size, in
the eggs of ants, as fully proved; although
it may not be exactly under the same
circumstances as those of which the philo-
sopher I have just quoted speaks ; but
if they are not surrounded with a liquid,
or preserved from the influence of the
external air, their pellicle, moistened every
instant by the workers, may preserve a

* Latreille alludes to this increase in the size of
the eggs, both in these insects, and the Cynips. —T.

72 EGGS, &C. OF ANTS.

certain degree of suppleness, and the
faculty of extension, according to the
developement of the worm they enclose.

At the end of fifteen days, the little
worm is seen to quit the shell: its
body is then perfectly transparent, and
presents only a head and rings, without
any rudiment of feet or antenne. ‘The
insect, at this period, is completely de-
dependant upon the workers.

Ihave been enabled to observe, through
the glasses of my artificial ant-hill, the
great care taken of these little worms,
which bear also the name of Larva. They
were generally guarded by a body of ants,
who, raised upon their feet, with their ab-
domen brought between these members,
were prepared to cast their venom upon
all intruders, whilst, here and there, other
workers were engaged in clearing the pas-
sages, by removing the materials which
were outof place; a great number of their
companions taking at the same time their
repose, and appearing to be fast asleep:
but a busy scene occurred at the moment

eGcGs, &c. OF ANTs. 13

of transporting their little ones to enjoy
the warmth of the sun. When the sun’s
rays fell upon the exterior portion of the
nest, the ants, who were then on the
surface, descended with great rapidity to
the bottom of the ant-hill, struck with
their antennz the other ants, ran one
after the other, and jostled their com-
panions, who mounted at the moment
under the bell glass, and redescended with
the same speed, putting in their turn
the whole colony in motion, so that we
could observe a swarm of workers, filling
up all the passages; but what proved
still more their intention by these move-
ments, was, the violence with which
the workers sometimes seized, with their
mandibles, those who did not appear to
understand them, dragging them forth
tothe top of the ant-hill, and immedi-
ately leaving them, to go and seek those
still remaining with the young.

As soon as the ants had intimation of
the appearance of the Sun, they occupied
themselves with the larve and pupe;

E

74° EGGS, &c. OF ANTS.

they carried them with all expedition
above the ant-hill, where they left them
exposed to the influence of the heat.
Their ardour suffered no relaxation ; the
female larvae (which are heavier, and
much larger than those of the other
cast) were carried, with some difficulty,
through the narrow passages, leading
from the interior to the exterior of the
ant-hill, and placed in the sun, by the
side of those of the workers and males.
After remaining there a quarter of an
hour, the ants again took them up, and
sheltered them from the direct rays of
the sun, by placing them in chambers,
situated under a layer of straw, which
did not entirely intercept the heat.

The workers, after having fulfilled the
duties imposed upon them in regard to
the larvee, did not forget themselves ;
they sought, in their turn, to stretch
themselves in the sun, lay upon each
other in heaps, and seemed to enjoy some
repose, but it was of no long duration.
I observed a great number constantly

EGGS, &c. OF ANTS. 15

employed on the surface of the ant-hill,
and others engaged in carrying back the
larvae, in proportion as the sun declined.
The moment of nourishing them being at
length arrived, each ant approached a
larva, and offered it food. “ The larve of
ants,” observes M. Latreille, ‘* resemble,
when they quit the egg, little white worms,
destitute of feet, thick, short, and in form
almost conical; their body is composed of
twelve rings; the anterior part is slender
and curved. We remark at the head two
little horny pieces or hooks, too distant
from each other to be regarded as true
teeth; under these hooks we observe four
little points or cé/s, two on each side, and
a mamelon, or tubercular process, almost
cylindrical, soft, and retractile, by which
the larva receives its food.” *

* What a world of wonders is there not opened
to our view, in the transformations the insect tribe
undergo, from the period of their birth, to the full
and complete development of their several organs.
Unless well assured of the fact, how could we
imagine the feeble helpless worm just described
would ever become the industrious, enterprising

E2

76 EGGS, &c. OF ANTS.

The ants do not prepare for their lar-
vee provisions de bouche, as happens with

ant, furnished with organs of motion and of flight.
How devoid of probability would appear the state-
ment, did we not possess evidence to the contrary,
that the magnificent butterfly we see hovering from
flower to flower, ever drew its origin from the
creeping caterpillar. But these changes, sur-
prising as they are, are yet equalled by other cir-
cumstances connected with the metamorphoses of
insects, for with these changes in appearance, the
animal alters its habits and mode of life. The but-
terfly in its first or larva state of existence eats vo-
raciously, and in a manner greatly disproportioned
to its size, devouring twice its weight of leaves in a
day ; in its second or pupa state, this inordinate
appetite ceases, and all its active powers are sus-
pended; in its third, imago, or perfect state, no
longer bound to the spot that gave it birth, it takes
a wider range, cleaves the regions of the air, and
sips the nectar of flowers. That beautiful silver-
winged insect (Libellula) now crossing our path,
passed the first part of its existence as a water in-
sect, and that little creature (Ephemera) we see
sporting in the sun-beam, whose existence as a
winged insect is limited only to a few hours, and
seemingly with no other view than that of con-
tinuing its kind, has also passed the first period of
its life in the same element. The common gnat,
that so much annoys us in our evening walks, was
originally an inhabitant of some stagnant pool. The

15*

EGGS, &c. OF ANTS. 77

several species of bees and other insects,
which provide before-hand for the wants
of their little ones ; they give them every
day the nourishment best suited to their
condition; the instinct of the larve is
sufficiently developed, to enable them to
demand and receive their repast, in the
same way as the young of birds receive
it from their parents. When hungry,
they erect their body, and search with
their mouth that of the workers, who
are appointed to nourish them. ‘The ant
then separates its mandibles, and allows
them to take from its very mouth the
fluids they seek.

I know not if these fluids undergo any
change in the body of the workers, but
I am far from believing it to be the
case, since I have often seen the ants

————

beetle that flits along at even-tide, lay in a worm-
like state for a considerable period, locked up in
the caverned chambers of the earth, and — but why
proceed, when the whole insect tribe, generally
speaking, undergo such developements. — T,

E 3

78 EGGs, &c. OF ANTS.

offer them nourishment, almost immedi-
ately after they had themselves taken it ;
perhaps honey and sugar dissolved in
water. I presume, however, that the
regimen is proportioned to the age and
sex of each individual, that the aliment
is more substantial the nearer the time
of their metamorphosis, and that more
is given to the larvee of females than to
those of the workers and males; but the
questions which have reference to the
quality and quantity of these aliments
are of difficult solution: however, as it
is of some importance to ascertain if the
nourishment which the larva takes has
any influence upon the development of |
the sexes in. the females of ants, as ob-
tains in bees, I purpose making some ex-
periments by nourishing myself the lar-
vee of different species. Let us at pre-
sent follow the workers in the last care
they bestow upon the larvae; it is not
sufficient to lay them in the sun and give
them food; it is still necessary to keep
them remarkably clean. ‘These insects,

EGGS, &C. OF ANTS. 79

therefore, who in point of tenderness to
the young committed to their charge,
do not yield to any of the females of the
larger animals, pass their tongue and man-
dibles continually over their bodies, and
thus render them perfectly white. * The

* As these insects evince so much attachment to
the charge committed to their care, I was desirous
of ascertaining if they would show equal concern
for the offspring of another species. For this pur-
pose, I visited a nest inhabited by the little black
aut, where there were only larve, and removed a
few to a nest occupied by the yellow ant, containing
only pupe. Here they lay for a time unnoticed.
At length, one or two of the ants took them up,
with the intention of carrying them away, when
another, who appeared stationed as centinel, ran
violently against and overthrew them, thus occa
sioning them to relinquish their hold: this part of
the nest was at length deserted, the larve were left
where first deposited, and the centinel retired. At
this time not a single ant was within view. In
about five minutes a little troop sallied forth, and,
as if acting under some general impulse, carried off
their unwelcome visitors to one of their under-
ground apartments. Visiting this nest from day to
day, I never afterwards saw these larve, and there-
fore, conclude they had been set apart, where, from
neglect, they had perished. Had the larve been
brought up in common with those of their own
family, 1 must have known it; for, as I before said,

E 4

80 EGGS, &c. OF ANTS.

ants have also another occupation; that
of extricating them from their cuticle,
which becomes distended and soft at the
period of their transformation.

Previous. to changing this skin, the

the nest contained pup only. In an after-visit to
this nest, I reversed the experiment, by carrying
away some of the pupae, and placing them in the
nest from which I had before taken the larve.
This done, a similar scene took place. The pupe
were at first regarded with indifference. Some
of the inhabitants then attempted a removal, to
which there was, fora time, strong opposition. In a
few minutes, however, they were carried off to the
subterranean chambers. In these experiments,
there was this slight difference: in the former in-
stance, the ants retired, as it would seem, to de-
liberate; in :the latter, they remained the whole
time within sight, a little distance from the pupe.
Had the larve or pupe been suffered to remain
where first placed, this would have greatly em-
barrassed the ants in their daily operations, this be-
ing the spot where. they were in the habit of bring-
ing their young to enjoy the sun’s warmth. But
why they should take them. under-ground, in pre-
ference to carrying and depositing them beyond the
nest, is a question I can only answer by supposing
they there conveyed them to insure their certain
destruction, and thus prevent further molest-
ation. — T.

EGGS, &c. OF ANTS. 81

jarvee spin themselves a silken covering
or cocoon, (as is the case with many
other insects,) in which in the form of
pupe, they prepare to undergo their last
metamorphosis. ‘This cocoon is of a cy-
lindrical form, elongated, of a pale yellow
colour, and very smooth and _ close in its
texture. A remarkable circumstance for
which no cause has been yet assigned is, ~
that there are ants whose larve never
spin ; but this exception only holds with
those species that possess a sting and two
knots on the peduncle of the abdomen.
Thus, there are somelarvee whichundergo
their change in a silken envelope, and
others which become pup, without lying
under the necessity of spinning or weav-
ing one. *

* Among the spinning larva, there are some
whose web is marked with a black point at one of
the extremities, which has been taken for the re-
mains of the skin of the pupz, which they reject in
their preceding state; but as I have found the
cocoons, thus stained, before the larvae they con-
tained had undergone their metamorphosis, this
supposition falls to the ground. I am fully con-
vinced it is nothing more than the residue of the

EO”

82 -EGGs, &c. OF ANTS.

The larvee of some ants pass the winter
heaped up in the lowermost floor of their
dwelling. I have found, at this period,
very small larvee inthe nests inhabited by
the Yellow Ant, the Field Ant, and some
other species, but none, in those of
the Fallow, Ash-coloured, and Mining
Ants. Those that are to pass the winter
in this state are covered with hair, which
is not the case in summer; affording
another proof of that Providence at which
naturalists are struck at every step. We
do not find the larvee of males and females
but in the spring; their transformation
takes place in the beginning of summer.

The insect, in the state of pupa, has
acquired the figure it will always pre-
serve; nothing seems wanting but strength

= ee

aliment, which these insects discharge a little time
before their change. — A.

Gould is of our Author’s opinion; but Sir
Edward King, who published a memoir on ants in
an early number of the Philosophical Transactions
conjectures, that it is a secretion cast out by the
larva in its transformation. — T.

eGcs, &c. OF ANTS. 83

and a little more consistence: it is also as
large as it will ever be; all its members
are distinct, one single pellicle envelopes
them. The ant, under this form, con-
tinues to move for some moments after its
quitting the state of larva, but it soon be-
comes immoveable: it afterwards changes
gradually in colour, passing from a fine
white to a pale yellow; then becoming
red, and in several species, brown, almost
verging to black. The rudiments of
wings may at this time be seen in those
which are destined to fly. The pupz
have still many attentions to receive from
the workers ; the greater part are enclos-
ed in a tissue spun by themselves before
their metamorphosis ; but they cannot,
like other insects, liberate themselves
from this covering by effecting an open-
ing in it with their teeth. They have
scarcely the power of moving; their cover-
ing is of too compactatexture, and form-
ed of too strong a silk, to allow of their
tearing it without the assistance of the
workers. But how do these indefatiga-

E 6

84: EGGS, &c. OF ANTS.

ble attendants ascertain the proper mo-
ment for this process ?—If they possessed
the faculty of hearing, we might imagine
they knew the fit time, from some noise
produced in the interior of the prison by
the insects whose developement has com-
menced; but there is no indication favour-
ing this opinion ; it is probable they have
a knowledge of it from some slight move-
ments that take place within, which they
ascertain through the medium of their
antenne; for these organs are endowed
with a sensibility, of which it would be
difficult to form a just idea: whatever it:
be, they are never deceived.

Let us still follow them in that labour,
wherein are displayed, as it regards their
charge, a zeal and an attachment. which
would justly merit our attention, even
were they the real parents of these in-
sects; how much greater then must be
our astonishment, when we consider that
they bear no further relation to them,
than that of being born under the same
roof. Several males and females lay in

EGGS, &c. OF ANTS. 85

their enveloping membrane in one of the
largest cavities. of my glazed ant-hill.
The Labourers, assembled together, ap-
peared to be in continual motion around
them. I noticed three or four mounted
upon one of these cocoons, endeavouring
to open it with their teeth at that extre-
mity answering to the head of the pupa;
they began thinning it, by tearing away
some threads of silk where they wished
to pierce it; and at length, by dint of
pinching and biting this tissue, so ex-
tremely difficult to break, they formed in
ita vast number of apertures. They af-
terwards attempted to enlarge these open-
ings, by tearing or drawing away the silk;
but these efforts proving ineffectual, they
passed one of their teeth into the cocoon,
through the apertures they had formed,
and by cutting each thread, one after the
other, with great patience, at length
effected a passage, of a line in diameter,
in the superior part of the web. They
now uncovered the head and feet of the
insect to which they were desirous of

86 EGGs, &c. OF ANTS.

giving liberty, but before they could re-
lease it, it was absolutely necessary to en-
large the opening; for this purpose,
these guardians cut out a portion in the
longitudinal direction of the cocoon, with
their teeth alone, employing these instru-
ments as we are in the habit of employing
a pair of scissars. A considerable degree
of agitation prevailed in this part of the
ant hill ; anumber of ants were occupied
in disengaging the winged individual of
its envelope; they took repose and re-
lieved each other by turns, evincing great
eagerness in seconding their companions
in this undertaking.* To eflect its

* Among those ants I kept in confinement, |
observed that considerable bustle prevailed when
any of the pupz were about to quit the cocoon.
For the most part, two or three stationed themselves
on or near each cocoon. From seeing, more than
once, two engaged in the operation of extricating
the imprisoned ant from its envelope, I was desirous
of ascertaining whether a single worker could ac-
complish this operation. I therefore placed ina
wine glass with a little moistened earth one of the
Yellow Ants with three or four pupz; the first object
with this little creature, was that of excavating a
chamber for the deposition of its treasure. The

-EcGs, &c. OF ANTS. 87

speedy liberation, some raised up the
portion or bandalette cut out in the
length of the cocoon; whilst others drew
it gently from its imprisonment. When
the ant was extricated from its envelop-
ing membrane, it was not, like other in-
sects, capable of enjoying its freedom,
and taking flight: nature did not will
it that it should so soon be independent
of the labourers. It could neither fly,
nor walk, nor without difficulty stand ;
for the body was still confined by another
membrane, from which it could not, by
its own exertions, disengage itself.

In this fresh embarrassment, the la-
bourers did not forsake it; they removed
the satin-like pellicle which embraced

pup were then brought up, and laid on the surface
of the earth, from day to day, to receive the sun’s
warmth. In a few days, I saw the scattered rem~
nants of one of the cocoons, and the worker with
his assistant engaged in giving liberty to the re-
maining ants. I did not, at the time, notice whether
the pupe were or were not capable of effecting
their own liberation; but according to the state-
ment of De Geer, the pupa dies when neglected
by the workers. — T.

88 EGGs, &c. OF ANTS.

every part of the body, drew the antennz
gently from their investment, then dis-
engaged the feet and the wings, and
lastly, the body, the abdomen, and its pe-
duncle. The insect was now in a condi-
tion to walk and receive nourishment, for
which it appeared there was urgent need.
The first attention therefore, paid it by
the guardians, was that of giving it the
food I had placed within their reach.
The ants in every part of the ant-hill
were occupied in giving liberty to the
males, females, and young labourers, that
were still enveloped. On being dispos-
sessed of their coverings, the remnants
were collected and placed aside in one of
the most distant lodges of their habita-
_ tion; for these insects observe the greatest
order and regularity. Some species of
ants remove these shreds to a distance
from the ant-hill, others, cover the ex-
terior surface of their nest with them, or
collect them in particular apartments. *
* M. Latreille has remarked, as well as De Geer,

that, among the Ash-coloured Ants, there are some
pupe which are naked, others enclosed in a

EGGS, &c. OF ANTS. 89

The labourers we have seen in charge
of the larvee and pupe evince the same so-

cocoon; but he does not know if there are any
that undergo their metamorphosis without spinning,
or if the workers tear off their enveloping mem-
brane ; however he leans to this latter opinion. [
have often made the same remark. I have even
confirmed the conjecture he had advanced, and
often seen the ash-coloured labourers opening the
cocoon of the pupe, a short period after their trans-
formation. The Mining Ants act the same: but for
what purpose do they hasten to liberate them, and
of what advantage is it to the larve to spin, if the
workers so soon destroy the tissue they have woven?
It cannot be for the sake of unfolding their mem-
bers from the last envelope in the state of pupa, for
the ants do not render them this service until they
are capable of motion, and have acquired their full
strength: they even know the precise moment when
to remove them. Are not these cocoons of essen-
tial service to the larve at the time of passing to the
state of pupe ? I have frequently drawn from their
cocoons, larve which had just spun, and which were
not yet metamorphosed: some days after, they
began rejecting their larva-skin, but could not dis-
engage their limbs, which, with the abdomen, re-
mained attached to it. The ants offered them no
assistance. These pupe were never well developed,
and they soon perished. It appears that these
cocoons offered thera a point of support, enabling
them to free themselves from the skin which they
are under the necessity of rejecting. It will be ob-
jected, perhaps, that the larve of several species

90 EGGS, &C. OF ANTS,

licitude for the ants, freshly transformed :
they lie for some days under the necessity
of watching and following them ; they ac-
company them in their excursions, point
out to them the paths and labyrinths of
their habitation, and nourish them with
the greatest care ; they also perform the
‘difficult task of extending the wings of
the males and females, which would
otherwise remain folded up, and acquit
themselves with such address, as not to
injure these frail and delicate members.
At one time, they bring together, in
the same apartments, the males they find
rambling ; at another time, act as guides

never spin, and they would of course experience
the same inconvenience as those I drew too hastily
from their cocoon. To this I answer, that nature
has provided for this case in another manner :—
the body of these Ants is very different from that of
others, their elongated peduncle gives greater
liberty to the abdomen, to move, bend, and extend
itself, than the peduncle of the first, which is closely
attached to the corslet. They have, in addition, a
sting, which may also facilitate their developement,
for the pupz at first possess much strength and
vivacity, although they soon after pass into a state
of lethargy. — A.

EGGS, &c. OF ANTS. 91

in conducting them from the ant-hill.
In short, the labourers appear to have
the complete direction of their conduct,
as long as they remain there, and neglect
not to discharge the several duties, con-
nected with these insects (whose strength
is not yet developed) until the period of
their taking flight for the purpose of con-
tinuing their kind.

How can we sufficiently admire the as-
siduity which the labouring ants evince
for the little ones whose safety is con-
fided to them! — By what bond has nature
attached them so strongly to the pro-
geny of another mother! ‘This question
having a reference to the different families
composed of three sorts of individuals, —
the labourers, charged with educating
the young, fabricating, and provisioning
the nest ; and those upon whom the of-
fice devolves of multiplying the species, —
deserves to be treated at greater length,
and with greater attention, than our con-
fined knowledge permits. But we have
a glimpse, however, of the secret of this

92 EGGS, &c.. OF. ANTS.

singular constitution, in the resemblance
the labourers have with the female
ants, relatively to their external sexual
organs. The connexion which exists be-
tween ants, and hive and humble bees,
throws additional light upon this subject,
by showing us labourers demi-fecund
with the one *, and little rival females,
abundant enough with the other. + » That
solicitude also which the labouring ants
evince for the larva, whose birth they
have witnessed, clearly discovers their
sex, and would be sufficient to prove that
they are neither neuters nor males,
even if the conduct of the males towards
them did not indicate that they belong to
the class of females. This observation,
which I have several times made, (the.
details of which I suppress, ) leaves me in
no doubt upon this point. I shall here
only add, that I have never known the

* Nouvelles Observations sur les Abeilles, par F.
Huber.

+ V. Linn. Trans. vol. vi. Memoir upon Humble
Bees, by the Author of these researches,

EGGS, &c. OF ANTS. fr 93

labouring ants produce eggs, and have
constantly found the approach of the male
attended with the sacrifice of theirlives.

But with what view does nature permitas
many sterile females among ants as among
wasps and bees ? Isit notin order to in-
crease the number of individuals, in the
same family, without producing a popula-
tion that wouldbe more than proportioned
to it ? — In reserving a certain number of
females for conception, she has ap-
pointed others to take care of the infant
generation. She has even deprived the
latter of the faculty of flying; but in re-
turn for this, they enjoy a sweet recom-
pense, either (as we have no reason to
doubt) by their being inspired for their
charge with the sentiments of mothers for
their young, or by their having an unli-
mited power over the other orders of the
society in which they live ; a truth which
| hope to establish in the course of this
work, and which differs widely from the
received opinion, that these republics
are governed by several chiefs.

94

CHAP. IIE.

OF THE FECUNDATION, &C. OF ANTS.

1. Departure of the Winged Ants.

Werner we unable to determine the sexes
of ants from the appearance of those
light and membranous wings with which
some are furnished, and others totally
unprovided, we should still conclude,
that the former were destined to change
their place of abode, the latter to remain
on the spot where they receive their
birth. That prerogative which distin-
guishes the males and females from the
workers, has not been granted them for
the advantage of the colony in which
they pass the first period of their exist-

FECUNDATION Wc. OF ANTS. 95

ence. They are neither called upon to
provision their abode, nor to seek, afar
off, materials for its construction. Nature
has endowed them with instruments of
flight, for the well-being and continuance
of the species, and for the purpose of
establishing ant-hills in every situation,
and forming numerous colonies. But
how are these new colonies established ?
What particulars do the amours of these
winged ants offer us? Do the males and
females live incommon? Have they the
same instinct as the workers? What a
variety of questions could we not pro-
pose on this subject ; a subject hitherto
but slightly touched upon, and by com-
paratively few authors, and whose impor-
tance, as it regards the economy of ants,
merits the closest attention.

Having observed these insects in the
interior of the ant-hill, remarked their
education, and the cares bestowed upon
them, to the period when they are in a
condition to walk or fly, we shall now

96 FECUNDATION &C. OF ANTS.

follow them out of the nest, and, as far
as possible, in their aérial excursions.

Let us lose sight for one moment of the
glazed ant-hill. Let us retire to a
meadow, on a fine summer’s day, at a
time when they first make use of their
wings, and take a survey of their habita-
tion, on the surface of which we shall ob-
serve walking to and fro many of its
winged inhabitants. ‘These are the males
and females of the Field Ants; they climb
all the plants which surround their resi-
dence, and are every where accompanied
by a multitude of workers, who follow
their steps with ceaseless solicitude. —
Some, however, attempt to retain and re-
conduct them to the ant-hill; but the
greater part content themselves with
simply escorting them. They offer them
nourishment for the last time, and render
them the last token of their care and af-
fection.

The dome of the ant-hill does not
afford the winged ants a sufficiently ample
field for the display of their amours ;

FECUNDATION OF ANTS. Q7

the crowd by which they are constantly
surrounded seems to embarrass their
movements ; they soon come to the de-
termination of taking flight, and seeking
in the air a wider theatre, in which they
can accomplish the wish of nature. But
what are those dazzling objects we see on |
that little hillock rising above the grass ?
They are the male Ants who come forth
by hundreds from their subterranean resi-
dence, and display their silvery and
transparent wings as they wander over
the surface of their nest. ‘The females,
who are in much smaller number, soon
join their paramours, proudly displaying
their big and highly bronzed abdomen,
and occasionally extending their glitter-
ing wings, whose ever-varying lustre
adds much to the beauty. of this interest-
ing assemblage.

Disorder and agitation are now mani-
fest in the ant-hill; the bustle increases
every moment, the winged insects climb
with great briskness the neighbouring
plants, followed by a numerous retinue

.

98 FECUNDATION OF ANTS.

of workers, who are continually running
from one male to another, touching them
with their antenne, and offering them
food.

The males, at length, quit the paternal
roof and take flight, as from one general
impulse, in which they are quickly fol-
lowed by the females. The winged tribe
soon disappear. ‘The workers retrace for
some instants the steps of these highly fa-
voured beings, to whom they have shown
such extreme care and attention, and
whom they are never destined to see more.

Many pleasing pictures are exhibited
by the variety in colour and form of this
assemblage of insects. In some, the whole
body is of one uniform colour; the
workers being yellow, the males black,
and the females flaxen. Their wings
display all the brilliant hues of the rain-
bow. In others, the body of the workers
is of a dark ash-colour, stained with red
upon the corslet ; the males, whose body
is a deep black, have the feet of a fine
yellow, and the wings whitish; the fe-
males have the corslet and abdomen

FECUNDATION OF ANTS. 99

brown, ornamented with orange-coloured
spots; the wings are transparent and
blackish at their extremities.

It is requisite that the temperature of
the air should be at the 15° or 16° of
Reaumur (67° Fahrenheit), to allow of
our witnessing the departure of the
males and females: unless this be the
case, they continue within the nest, shel-
tered from the wet and the cold air.
When the weather is favourable, the la.
bourers, who seem to be aware of it,
form several apertures in the ant-hill, to
give a ready passage to the crowd that
are about to quit it. The males and fe-
males may be then seen coming to take
the air at the entrance. The hour of de-
parture arrives: they all take flight.
The workers alone re-enter the nest, and
close the entrances.

But let us continue our course, and
still follow the winged ants in their flight.
A shower of these insects soon arrests the
attention. They fall from some height
in the air, by pairs, roll themselves in

F2

100 FECUNDATION OF ANTS.

the dust, and sport in the grass. With
some, the junction takes place previous
to their reaching the ground; with
others, it is effected upon the plants
where they rest; some few disengage
themselves from their companions, and,
mounting in the air, rejoin a cloud of
other winged ants, collected near the
top of a tree, around which they make
continual evolutions. <A little further
off, I perceive other assemblages of these
winged insects, but of a different species;
they appear at a less height than the
former, and somewhat resemble the
swarming of bees. ‘Lhe term of swarm,
however, does not strictly apply to this
concourse of insects, who have no fur-
ther object than that of meeting each
other, and effecting their union in the
air, and who do not assemble for the
purpose of founding a new colony. I
shall, notwithstanding, use this expres-
sion, when speaking of a numerous as-
semblage of ants, who fly about with a
buzzing sound, without separating. I
presently perceived I was surrounded by

FECUNDATION OF ANTS. 101

winged ants: several females were in the
midst of this swarm; and these are they
who, doubtless, draw together all the
males of which it is composed. The
swarm takes no particular direction, nei-
ther removing from, nor approaching the
ant-hill they had left; but, in place of
this, raise and lower themselves alter-
nately, about ten feet from the surface of
the ground. Whilst this general move-
ment takes place, which is effected with
considerable slowness, all the males form-
ing the main body of the swarm, fly in
a zig-zag direction, with considerable ra-
pidity: the females, on the contrary,
remain suspended, like balloons; they
face the wind, and seem in a state of im-
mobility. ‘They continue, however, to
ascend and descend with the swarm, un-
til the males dart upon them, separate
them from the crowd, and impregnate
them, even in mid-air.

I have often noticed, in the month of
September, similar swarms. ‘These in-
sects admitted of easy observation, since

F 3

102 FECUNDATION OF ANTS.

they were unembarrassed by my presence.
The sound produced by myriads of these
insects did not equal that of a single
wasp. In every part of the meadow,
these assemblages might be witnessed: a
zephyr was sufficient to disperse them,
but they quickly reformed a compact
body. It often happened several swarms
were so intermingled as to constitute
but one. I have seen very considerable
swarms, but ascertained nothing particu-
lar respecting them. *

* Assemblages of winged ants have been also
witnessed in this country, as is evidenced by the fol-
lowing quotation :—“ In the beginning of August,
1812, I was going up the Orford river, in Suffolk,
in a row-boat, in the evening, when my attention,
was caught by an infinite number of winged ants,
both males and females, at which the fish were every
where darting, floating alive upon the surface of
the water. While passing the river, these had pro-
bably been precipitated into it, either by the wind,
or by a heavy shower, which had just fallen. Cap-
tain Haverfield, R.N., gave me an account of an
extraordinary appearance of ants observed by him
in the Medway, in the autumn of 1814, when he
was first-lieutenant of the Clorinde, which is con-
firmed by the following letter, addressed by the
surgeon of that ship, now Dr. Bromley, to Mr.
Mac Leay : — ‘In Sept. 1814, being on the deck of

FECUNDATION OF ANTS. 103

When a large body of these insects
were hovering immediately over my head,
it would seem that I alone possessed the
power of inducing them to change their .
station, and of uniting them to others I

the hulk of the Clorinde, my attention was drawn
to the water by the first-lieutenant ( Haverfield) ob-
serving there was something black floating down
with the tide. On looking with a glass, I disco-
vered they were insects. The boat was sent, and
brought a bucket full of them on board; they
proved to be a large species of ant, and extended
from the upper part of Salt-pan reach, out towards
the great Nore, a distance of five or six miles. The
column appeared to be in breadth eight or ten feet,
and in height about six inches, which, I suppose,
must have been from their resting one upon another.’
These ants were winged. Whenge this immense co-
lumn came was not ascertained. From the num-
ber here agglomerated, one would think that all
the ant-hills of Kent and Surrey could scarcely
have furnished a sufficient number of males and fe-
males to form it. When Colonel Sir Augustus
Frazer, of the Horse Artillery, was surveying, on
the 6th of October, 1813, the scene of the battle of
the Pyrennees from the summit of the mountain
called Pena de Aya, or Les quatre Couronnes, he
and his friends were enveloped by a swarm of ants,
sO numerous as entirely to intercept their view, so
that they were glad to remove to another station, in
order to get rid of them.”\— Introduction to Ento-
mology, by Kirby and Spence, Vol. II. p.53.— T.

F 4

104 FECUNDATION OF ANTS.

observed in the meadows. To eftect this,
I had only to walk slowly, the swarm by
which I was surrounded following and
accompanying me in all my movements,
which I attribute either to my drawing
after me the column of air in which they
were flying, or to their regarding me as
the base above which they were ele-
vated, and, therefore, not aware of their
removing from the point of departure. [
have never witnessed any of those ex-
tensive swarms, of which M. Gleditsch
has given us an account, in the Memoirs
of the Academy of Berlin. ‘ He ob-
served,” he says, *‘ an immense swarm
of ants, which, viewed at a distance,
produced an effect very much resembling
an aurora borealis, when, from the bor-
der of the cloud, appear by jets several
columns of flame and vapour, attended
with a variety of luminous rays and lines,
orming no unapt resemblance to forked
lightning, although destitute of its bril-
liancy. Columns of ants, but less dis-
tinct, were seen moving here and there,
with inexpressible swiftness, continually

FECUNDATION OF ANTS. 105

elevating, so that they at length ap-
peared to soar above the clouds. Arrived
at this point, they so far from totally, or
even in part disappearing, seemed to
form a more compact body, becoming
darker, from time to time. Other mov-
ing columns, but more dilatory in their
progress, followed the first, rising, in
like manner, occasionally darting forth,
or mounting after each other with equal
swiftness. ‘These several columns con-
tinued in motion during the space of
half anhour. Each column presented a
species of close net-work, and had an in-
testinal or undulating movement. On
regarding them a little nearer, I found
them to consist of a numerous body of
flying insects. ‘These insects, of small
size, entirely black, and winged, pre-
served the form of an unbroken column,
continually ascending and descending
with great regularity.” *

One would be inclined to believe, that
these winged ants, whose aérial excur-
* Bomare, Dict. d’Hist. Nat.

FO

106 FECUNDATION OF ANTS.

sions are completed, and whose impreg-
nation has taken place before us, recalled
to the ant-hill, by an instinctive impulse,
would return to increase the population
of their nest ; that the males, now use-
less, after consuming a part of the pro-
visions of the large family of which they
are members, would experience the cruel
fate attending those of bees, and that
the females would commit their eggs to
the charge of the same individuals who
protected them in their infancy. Seve-
ral authors entertain this opinion, (among
others De Geer) ; but they advance no-
thing in support of it. It will be there-
fore expedient to discuss the question
which naturally arises from these facts.
The male and female ants, when they
take a long flight from the ant-hill, do
not show that singular instinct which
guides bees, wasps, and other insects, in
again finding their habitation. This in-
stinct consists, in their knowing how to
move in every direction around their
abode, without straggling, in order to
examine its position, and the several

FECUNDATION OF ANTS. 107

places in its vicinity. We may be soon
convinced of this by displacing a hive.
The first day the bees never venture
abroad, unless they have previously visit-
ed all the neighbouring objects: they turn
round on all sides, keeping an eye upon
their dwelling, without which, it may be
readily conceived, it would be impossible
they could return. The Queen Bee does
the same when she goes forth to meet her
paramour in the air.* But our winged
ants, on the contrary, when they quit the
ant-hill, keep their back continually to-
wards it, and go off in a right line to a
distance, from which it would be no easy
matter to perceive it. We might from
this infer, that they would never return
to it. But I did not confine myself en-
tirely to this observation ; for I kept sen-
try, from the time of their departure until
night, and even several days in succes-
sion, to be fully assured they did not re-
turn to the ant-hill. In this way I have

* Vide Observations upon Bees, addressed to
Ch. Bonnet.

F 6

108 FECUNDATION OF ANTS.

arrived at the conviction, that their re-
turn is one of those fables with which we
have been a long time amused. What,
then, becomes of these insects, accus-
tomed as they they have been, to liveina
convenient spacious abode, — sheltered
from every inclemency of the weather,
and receiving every attention from the
labourers, suddenly relying upon their
‘own guidance, deprived of all these ad-
vantages ? This we shall learn in the
following section.

2. History of Winged Ants after Impregnation.

The history of males, after they have
discharged the only office to which they
appear destined, neither offers any
proof of that courage we should expect
from their sex, nor of a laborious indus-
try. We know that in the class of insects
with four membranous wings, the males
are destitute of offensive weapons, and do
not possessthat admirable apparatus which
the greater part of females put in use in the
establishment of their family ; they have
neither chisel-shaped teeth, nor stings, nor

FECUNDATION OF ANTS. 109

~

ovipositors (tariéres). The several arts
we remark among the greater number of
bees and wasps, ichneumons and tenthre-
dines, &c. are exercised by the females
alone, or by the labourers, their repre-
sentatives. The defence of the nest is
also confided to them: the males, after
attending to the office of reproduction,
become useless to the family of which
they are members. ‘The life of male ants
cannot be of long duration ; deprived of
their attendants, incapable of providing
their own subsistence, and returning no
more to the ant-hill that gave them birth,
how can it possibly be of any long con-
tinuance? Their life is either naturally
limited to a few weeks, or bunger will
speedily terminate it: whatever it be,
' they disappear in a little time after the
period of their amours; but they never
fall victims, as happens with bees, to the
fury of the labourers.

At the period when the career of
males is terminated, that of the females
is scarcely commenced: they bear the
germs of future generations, and these

110 FECUNDATION OF ANTS.

germs are fecundated. Their history is
closely connected with the history of ant-
hills, and embraces several curious, and
hitherto unknown, particulars. Let us at
first pass in review those authors who
have treated of it.

Swammerdam, to whom we are indebt-
ed for many excellent memoirs on the
metamorphoses of insects, and who was
one of the first to point out those which
ants undergo, had never seen among them
any winged females; he, however, de-
scribes some of the species; he speaks of
the males being provided with four wings,
and mentions several facts in their history.
Geofiry has witnessed wings upon females,
but he denies their ever being deprived
of them. - There are individuals who
still believe, as in the time of antiquity,
that ants, at a certain age, acquire wings.
Linnzeus, De Geer, Latreille, and other
modern naturalists, agree in stating, that
the females of ants have wings, as well
as the males, and that in a little time
after copulation, some are seen destitute
of these organs. ‘This observation, re-

FECUNDATION OF ANTS. iii

peated by so many learned naturalists, is
well entitled to our confidence. Swam-
merdam must, therefore, have been
deceived. By means of the glasses in
my artificial ant-hill, we have traced
from its first commencement the de-
velopement of their wings; we have seen
the ants take flight, unite in the air with
the males, and hover in the midst of the
swarm, which is almost entirely com-
posed of male insects. It would be diffi-
cult to be mistaken in facts of this nature.
It has also been stated, that there are
females without wings. Indeed, every
time I have opened ant-hills, I have found
some entirely destitute of these organs.
Are these the females that are at one
time in the number of flying insects,
and at another time reduced to the con-
dition of labourers? For what end, and
how do these insects lose their wings ? In
the following observations will, I think,
be found the solution of this problem.
One day, with the view of ascertain
ing the precise condition ef the females,
I visited certain ant-hills, which I knew

112 FECUNDATION OF ANTS.

to be filled with winged ants, of both
sexes, and whose departure could not be
very distant. Scarcely had I reached the
spot, when I saw pass over my head seve-
ral female ants, bearing the males behind
them. I seized a few, without injuring
them, and found they belonged to the
Brown Ant. Having then approached the
- ant-hill, from whence I had seen them
depart, I observed several take flight, and
quit their natal abode. ‘The males pre-
ceded them, and the labourers, as far as
they could, accompanied them. These fe-
males took adirection perpendicular tothe
horizon, and were soon lost to sight.
When they encountered the males sport-
ing in the air, they re-descended with
their light burthen, and alighted upon
some shrubs. ‘These couples soon sepa-
rated.

I took eight females, still united with
the males, and placed them in a box, to
observe them on my return; but a violent
rain, which came on at this moment, of-
fered me a sight, as singular as unex-
pected. As soon as the shower had

FECUNDATION OF ANTS, 118

passed, I saw the earth strewed with fe-
males without wings. ‘They were most
likely the identical females I had seen
traversing the air. ‘They were of the
same species and colour as the first. I
had not quitted the place in which
the ants had alighted. Some still re-
tained their wings; it was, therefore, an
easy matter to compare them.

On my return home, I placed my
eight prisoners, with some moistened
earth, in a garden vase, covered with a
glass receiver. It was nine o’clock in
the evening; at ten all the females had
lost their wings, which I observed scat-
tered here and there, and had _ hidden
themselves under the earth. I had al-
lowed the occasion to pass by, of wit-
nessing the separation of these fragile
members, and of determining, if pos-
sible, what had produced it.

On the following day, I procured
three other females in union with their
males, and this time I observed them
with the greatest attention, from the mo-
ment of their fecundation, until nine in

114 FECUNDATION OF ANTS.

the evening ; a period of five hours. But
during this time nothing was done to
denote the approaching loss of their
wings, which remained still firmly af-
fixed. ‘These females appeared to be in
excellent condition: they passed their
feet across their mouths, then glided
them over the antenne, and rubbed
the legs one against the other. I could
not conceive what could retard the fall
of their wings, whilst the other ants had
lost them so readily. It is true, that I
placed those of which I am now speak-
ing, in a very strong box, completely
closed, whilst the former were deposited
in a transparent vault, offering not the
slightest appearance of a prison, and
upon a ground more natural than the
bottom of a sand-box, where there was
no earth. I had no idea that a circum-
stance so trifling would have any influ-
ence upon these ants; however, having
learned that it was necessary to place them
as the first, I took some earth, and
strewed it lightly over the table, and

FECUNDATION OF ANTS. 115

then covered it with a bell-glass. I yet
possessed three fecundated ants, one of
which I introduced under the recipient.
I induced her to go there freely, by pre-
senting to her a fragment of straw, on
which she mounted, and upon this I con-
veyed her to her new habitation without
touching her; scarcely did she perceive
the earth which covered the bottom of
her abode, than she extended her wings,
with some effort, bringing them before
her head, crossing them in every direc-
tion, throwing them from side to side,
and producing so many singular con-
tortions, that her four wings fell off at the
same moment,in my presence. After this
change she reposed, brushed her corslet
with her feet, then traversed the ground,
evidently appearing to seek a place of
shelter; she seemed not to have the
slightest idea that she was confined
within a narrow enclosure. She partook
of the honey I gave her, and at last
found a hiding-place under some loose
earth, which formed a little natural
grotto.

116 FECUNDATION OF ANTS.

If I was surprised at seeing this fe-
male strip herself of her wings volunta-
rily, I was even more so, on finding that
she did not appear to suffer from it, and
that, after an act which would seem to us
any thing but natural, she delivered her-
self peaceably to her appetite, and sought
a retreat, as if nothing out of the ordinary
course had happened. ‘This fact merited
confirmation.

I introduced a second female under the
bell-glass about two hours after the first,
and with the same precaution, adding
to the dry earth, strewed over the table,
a little water, in order to allow these in-
sects to undertake any labour to which
their instinct might prompt them. When
she perceived that she stood upon mois-
tened earth, she advanced a few paces,
then stopped to touch the ground with
her antenne. This done, she took a po-
sition to facilitate the dispossession of her
wings; resting on her abdomen, she
opened them in disorder, extended them
in every direction, passed her legs behind

FECUNDATION OF ANTS. 117

them, and pressed them closely to-
wards the ground. When she had suc-
ceeded in disembarrassing herself of
these organs, I observed her walk about
tranquilly in her enclosure, and begin
constructing a grotto in the earth : thus,
this second experiment had all the suc-
cess of the first.

I still possessed one pregnant female,
which I reserved for the following
morning ; she had not lost her wings be-
fore the experiment. I introduced her
under the recipient fifteen or sixteen
hours later than the others: she ap-
peared to be in excellent condition, and
apparently had not suffered by this de-
lay. Scarcely had she touched the
ground, than she hastened to get rid
of her wings, employing the method
already described. I repeated the like
experiment on several females of’ dif-
ferent species, and always obtained the
same result. *

* For the discovery of the female ants voluntarily
depriving themselves of their wings, after impreg-

118 FECUNDATION OF ANTS.

We see, then, that the females of ants
lose their wings, but we little ex-

nation, we are certainly indebted to our present
author; but, as far as regards the simple fact of
these insects losing their wings, Linneeus, De Geer,
&c. were fully acquainted with it; to which indeed
our author alludes. Gould himself conjectured,
that the females which fell under his notice once
possessed wings. After a few remarks on the con-
dition of what he terms ant-flies, he says, “If you
strip a large ant-fly of its wings, when a week old,
or more, which is very easily done, for they will
come off by the most gentle touch imaginable, and
then place it in a microscope with a queen, you will
perceive no manner of difference as to their frame ;
the like indented places, or little hollows in the
breast where the wings commonly lie, will be found
in each; from whence, there is great reason to believe
the queen was originally adorned with such gaiety,
and appeared in the character of afly. It is also
observable, as a strong confirmation of this senti-
ment, that abundance of the large ant-flies, just
before or soon after leaving the colonies, actually
drop their wings, and, except a small difference in
complexion, which has not yet attained its true gloss,
are not to be distinguished from the queens. You
may; the latter end of July, and great part of
August, often meet with these unwinged ants,
travelling about, as it were, at random. If you
place a number of large ant-flies in a box, the wings
of many of them will, after some time, gradually

FECUNDATION OF ANTS. 119

pected they would themselves be the
voluntary authors of it. Would it
not appear that nature takes delight in
sporting with our judgment in the variety
and superiority of her plans, in the detail
as well as in the aggregate? We only
judge from known facts; but nature does
not follow, and indeed is under no neces-
sity of following, any invariable rule:
the fruitful source from which she receives
her laws knows no limits : every species
has its own manners, every individual its
own particular constitution ; hence arise
the innumerable errors into which we fall,

fall off like autumnal leaves. This circumstance is
peculiar to the large sort; for if you confine the
small ones ever so long, their wings will continue
fixed, and cannot be separated without some diff-
culty.”” In another place,he observes, “ the casting
of their wings is an instance peculiar to the large
ant-flies. These are to other insects their highest
decorations, and the want of them lessens their
beauty and shortens their life. On the reverse, a
large ant-fly gains by the loss, and is afterwards
promoted to a throne, and drops these external
ornaments as emblems of too much levity for a
sovereign.” — T,

120 FECUNDATION OF ANTS.

the moment we leave the high-road of
observation to be guided by what ap-
pear to us general rules. But let us re-
turn to the history of ants, which fur-
nishes us many examples of the ineffi-
ciency of our conjectures.

What will be the destiny of those ants
who have been united with the males in
the air, and who have just mutilated them-
selves? We already know they never
return to their natal abode.

As soon as they have lost their wings,
we observe them running over the ground
seeking an asylum. It would be ex-
tremely difficult at this time to follow
them, on account of the several turnings
and windings they make in the fields, and
among the grass. I have not succeeded
in tracing them at the moment of their
first establishment, but I rest perfectly
assured, from some experiments, that
those females who are not called upon
to discharge any duty in the natal ant-
hills, and who appear incapable of acting
by themselves, animated by maternal love,

1 Ses

FECUNDATION OF ANTS. 121

and the need of putting in use all their
faculties, become industrious, and take
care of their little ones with the same
sedulous attention as the common la-
bourers. |

I enclosed several pregnant females in
a vessel full of light humid earth, with
which they constructed lodges, where
they resided ; some singly, others in com-
mon. They laid their eggs and took
great care of them; and, notwithstanding
the inconvenience of not being able to
vary the temperature of their habitation,
they reared some, which became larve, of
a tolerable size, but which soon perished
from the effect of my own negligence.

I afterwards placed some other females
in a similar apparatus, and delivered to
them some pup (labourers), to ascertain
if their instinct would teach them
to open the covering in which they
were enclosed. Although these females
were virgins, and provided with wings,
they laboured so well, that I found, on
the following morning, three workers

G

122 - FECUNDATION OF ANTS.

among them. Some days after I saw
them occupied in delivering other la-
bourers from their last envelope: they
acted in the same way as ordinary ants,
aud did not appear embarrassed in the
part which they now performed for the
first time.

Itis, therefore, evident, that females, in
case of necessity, are enabled, unassisted,
to educate their family. If I have en-
deavoured to assure myself of this fact
by proofs still more positive, it was less
to remove any doubts on this point, than
to satisfy my curiosity on the composition
of these new colonies.

After long researches, I discovered the
retreat of these females, and the nascent
ant-hills they had established. They
were situated at a little depth in the earth.
A small number of workers were seen by
the side of the mother, and some larve
‘which they nourished. I have seen two
examples of these newly established co-
Jonies. One of my friends, M. Perrot,
of Neufchatel, a very excellent naturalist,

FECUNDATION OF ANTS. 1238

whose observations claim my greatest
confidence, discovered, one day, in a little
underground cavity, a female ant, living
solitarily with four pups, of which she
appeared to take great care. *

* «Upon frequent opening of mole-hills,’’ says
Gould, ‘‘ amongst them, I met with three, in each
of which was a cluster of large female ants, amount.
ing to six or seven ina cluster. They lay near the
surface, but had no regular apartment. Upon ex-
amining, and comparing them with a queen, there
was an exact agreement in colour, form, and struc-
ture. Upon dissection, several of them had parcels
of eggs in their insides. I deposited one of the
clusters in a box with some earth, under which they
concealed themselves, and united together, but did
not work any lodgement. Sometime after, three
or four of these females laid a few eggs, but did not
seem to take any great notice of them. For cu-
riosity, I placed in the box a cell of workers of the
same species ; and it was surprising to observe what
fondness was expressed. The common ants imme-
diately surrounded the females, took care of the
eggs, and, in a short period, made an apartment in
the earth fit to receive them. It may also be ob-
served that there were no common ants in the hills
where I found the above clusters. In all probability
they were originally large ant-flies, which, having
been expelled their colonies, and not falling victims
to their adversaries, associated together in this man-
ner, and survived the winter.’’ — There is no doubt

G @

124 FECUNDATION OF ANTS.

There still remains another important
_ question to solve — Would those females,
who had not received the addresses of the
male also deprive themselves of their
wings, or would they continue to use
them ?

but these mole-hills were fixed upon by the females
for the establishment of new colonies; and from their
consisting of loose earth, and presenting several ca-
vities, the labour of these insects in constructing
a dwelling must be considerably lessened. It is’
highly probable, they had lately arrived there, and,
therefore, had no time to commence their architee-
tural operations, it being remarked they had no re-
gular apartment. It would seem, by the above
statement, that the females go in small parties to
found new colonies, as well as singly ; which must
haye happened with the female which fell under the
notice of M. Perrot. The female which this gen-
tleman saw, was engaged in tending her young.
This certainly appears, on a first view, at variance
with Gould’s remark, that the females which laid
eggs “did not seem to take any great notice of
them.’’ But it must be recollected, that the females
were not placed under similar circumstances: the
former having been discovered with her young in
her own residence; the latter having produced
their eggs in confinement, and doubtless fully con.
scious of it.— T.

FECUNDATION OF ANTS. 125

I took, at the end of April, from a nest
of Yellow Ants, several young females ;
their wings were unfolded, and of a
whitish hue, like those recently removed
from their envelope. ‘They enjoyed full
liberty in their habitation ; which proves,
as we shall presently see, that they were
still virgins. We know, moreover, that
it is a very rare occurrence should the
males impregnate them in the interior of
the nest. I enclosed them in a glazed
ant-hill, with some labourers of the same
family, and observed their conduct
during several months. The labourers
were far from evincing the same degree
of interest for them as for pregnant fe-
males: they appeared to treat them with
indifference ; and this was the more natu-
ral, as these females had adopted the
manners and character of the neuters.
Their timidity had disappeared, and given
place to a sort of boldness, or rather iras-
cibility, which I perceived every time I
opened the door to give them nourish-
ment ; they darted forth upon my hands,

¢ 3

126 FECUNDATION OF ANTS.

and even pinched me more strongly than
the labourers: they knew, also, how to
follow and catch the flies I introduced
into their nest; and did it with much
promptitude and dexterity : but they did
not lose their wings, netwithstanding the
long proof to which I subjected them.

At another time, I placed several fe-
male virgins of the species of Brown Ants,
with a portion of their nest, under a bell-
glass. ‘They remained there peaceably
without taking up the choleric disposition
of the preceding; but these also preserved
their wings.

I also placed ten other ants, equally
virgins, in a vase, where I left them six
weeks. During this long captivity, they
did not even attempt to dispossess them-
selves of these members, which were still
left to fulfil the object of their destina-
tion. *

* I kept in captivity, upwards of a month, four
female ants, two of the Yellow and two of the Brown
species: they still retained their wings. ‘These

members would seem to be employed on no other
occasion than when they seek the males in the air,

FECUNDATION OF ANTS. 127

It appearsto me, then, certain, that the
females do not reject their wings, but
after fecundation; and that this act is, on
their part, completely voluntary, when
they are to change their mode of life, and
withdraw to take all due care of the
colony of which they bear the future

germs.

3. The Conduct of Labourers towards the Preg-
nant Females.

All the females do not quit the metro-
polis : it is necessary some few should re-

andsearch for a situation favourable to a new estab.
lishment. I have often endeavoured, in their
natal residence, by irritating them, to induce them
to take flight; but never could succeed. It was,
however, in this instance, scarcely to be expected,
since the amor patrie would restrain them. Ihave
removed them to a distance from the ant-hill, and
placed them in the sunshine ; but all to no purpose.
It, therefore, appears, they neither dispossess them-
selves of these members until their impregnation
has been effected, nor make use of them, unless for
the sole purpose of meeting their paramours in the
air, and seeking a place for the establishment of a
new colony. —T.
G 4

128 FECUNDATION OF ANTS.

main to keep up the population. We
shall now see in what manner nature
guards against that desertion of females
with which the ant-hill is threatened.

In speaking of the swarms of ants, I
avoided making an observation, which re-
quired some developement, and which
comes in now in its proper place. It is
this: that the-union of the sexes does
not always take place at a distance from
the ant-hill. It ordinarily happens, that
the males, before setting off, leave in the
ant-hill afew impregnated females. The
labourers, as if fully aware of the impor-
tance of preserving females capable of
maintaining the population of the repub-
lic, carefully retain these valuable depo-
sitaries of a future generation. Of this
remarkable feature of their foresight or
instinct, I have been a frequent witness ;
not only on natural ant-hills, but even in
my glass apparatus, where I observed it
under more detail]. I removed the bell-
glass which was placed over them, be-
cause I perceived it concentrated the

~

FECUNDATION OF ANTS. 129

rays of the sun upon the nest to that de-
‘gree, that its inhabitants could not sup-
port it, and removed my glazed ant-hill to
the garden, where I could observe the
winged ants as if they were in full liberty.
The greater number of the females
quitted the nest, and never returned to
it. A few remained upon the nest, and
were there impregnated. One, after co-
pulation, was about to take flight, when
the labourers retained her by her feet,
kept her down by main force, tore off
her wings, and conducted her back to
her residence, where they obstinately
guarded her. Several others were seized
by. the labourers, even in the very act of
copulation, and immediately carried off
to the bottom of the frame, were I saw

them mutilated, and retained in cap-
tivity. *

* De Geer observed in a nest of Red Ants that
the workers compelled some females, that were
come out of the nest, to re-enter it. I visited twice
or thrice a day, for some time, acolony of Red Ants,
and never observed any male or female in it. The
workers were engaged in taking care of the pupe,

@ 5

130 FECUNDATION OF ANTS.

It ismore especially with the Fuliginous
Ants, that we can the more readily ob-
serve this proceeding, since the depar-
ture of the winged individuals of that
species does not take place for a very
considerable period ; previous to which
the male and female insects go out each
day from their labyrinths, from two or
three o’clock in the evening, until the
middle of night, walking along the trunk
of the tree they inhabit. ‘The move-
ment of those insects whom the labour-
ers lead out of the nest, progressively
increases, and resembles a national féte,

ur

which were in considerable number. What was
my surprise, to observe, at length, a mass of eggs
apparently just laid, which the workers, on my dis-
turbing their abode, carried off with amazing ex-
pedition. It does not seem likely that any female,
after her excursion in the air, should have alighted
on their dwelling, since they generally go and
found new colonies. It is more probable this was
one of the females born in the nest, and, at the
time of the males and females taking their depar-
ture, had been retained by the workers, in one
of the lower apartments, for the sake of maintain-

ing its population. ey
YA

FECUNDATION OF ANTS. 181

in which all the individuals of the ant-
hill take an active part: it is destined to _
favour the rencontre and union of the
sexes. Ihave often seen, in those nu-
merous gatherings, females retained by
the workers, mutilated in my presence,
and carried back to the interior of the
trunk; and, although I have not surprised
them in their embraces, I have no doubt
their imprisonment took its origin from ~
their fecundation, which I conjecture
must have taken place, from the other
ants remaining perfectly free, from ana-
logy with those ants of which I have be-
fore spoken, and from my having several
times seen the males follow the females
to the surface of the tree.

We .see, then, that this numerous
cortége of labourers, which we have often
observed, without knowing their purport,
is not a homage they render the winged
ants, but is destined to favour the seizure
of those females whose impregnation
takes place upon the very nest.

The females that become prisoners

c 6

132 FECUNDATION OF ANTS.

from the moment of their fecundation,
and are conducted into the interior of
the nest, commence by being entirely
dependent upon the workers. The lat-
ter, hanging to each of their legs, guard
them with assiduity, and never permit
them to go out. They nourish them with
the greatest care, and conduct them into
quarters whose temperature appears the
best adapted to them; but they do not
abandon them an instant. Each of these
females loses, by degrees, the desire of
quitting her abode. Her abdomen in-
creases in size: at this period, she no
longer experiences constraint. She has
still a constant guard; a single ant ac-
companies her every where, and provides
for her necessities. ‘The greater part of
the time the worker rests upon its abdo-
men, with its posterior legs stretched out
upon the ground. It appears to be a
sentinel stationed to survey the female’s
actions, and to seize the first moment
when she begins to lay, to carry off, the
eggs. It is not always the same ant

FECUNDATION OF ANTS. 133

which follows her; this is relieved by
others, who succeed it without interrup-
tion; but when the maternity of the fe-
male is well known, they commence by
rendering her that homage which the
bees evince for their queen. A court of
from ten to fifteen ants continually fol-
low her; she is unceasingly the object of
their cares and caresses; all are eager to
collect around her, offer her nourishment,
and conduct her in their mandibles,
through difficult and ascending passages.
They also lead her through all the dif-
ferent quarters of the ant-hill. The eggs,
taken up by the labourers, at the instant .
of their being laid, are collected around
~her. When she seeks repose, a group of
ants environ her. Several females live
in the same nest; they show no rivalry ;
each has her court; they pass each
other uninjured, and sustain, in common,
the population of the ant-hill; but they
possess no power; which, it would seem,
entirely lodges with the neuters. How-
ever, as they receive the same honours

184 FECUNDATION OF ANTS.

as queen bees, I shall sometimes give
them the titles of queens. *

To give a better idea of that species
of interest which the females excite in
the labourers, and the attention the

* “ In whatever apartment.” says Gould, “a
queen ant condescends to be present, she com-
mands obedience and respect. An universal glad-
ness spreads itself through the whole cell, which is
expressed by particular acts of joy and exultation.
They have a peculiar way of skipping, leaping, and
standing upon their hind-legs, and prancing with
the others. These frolics they make use of, both
to congratulate each other when they meet, and to
show their regard for the queen. Some of them
gently walk over her, others dance round her, and
all endeavour to exert their loyalty and affection.
She is generally encircled with a cluster of attend-
ants, who, if you separate them from her, soon col-
lect themselves into a body, and inclose her in the
midst. However romantic this description may ap-
pear, it may easily be proved by an obvious experi-
ment. Ifyou place a queen ant, with her retinue
under a glass, you will, in a few moments, be con-
vinced of the honour they pay, and esteem they
entertain for her.” In reference to no rivalry be-
ing experienced, he says, “You may sometimes
expect to find two Yellow Queens in the same co-
lony. I have once or twice met with three. They
raost usually reside in the same lodgment, and live
together in perfect harmony and union.’ — T.

FECUNDATION OF ANTS. 135

latter bestow upon them, I shall enter
into some details which will sufficiently
prove their instinct.

Stopping, one day, near one of those
bands of ants, who were advancing in
file, I saw a female carried by a labourer,
hanging to, and suspended by its man-
dibles ; their teeth were crossed, and the
body of. the female was rolled up, like
the trunk of a butterfly. It seems a
matter of astonishment that a labourer
should carry a female; but the latter
possesses the art of rolling herself up
into so small a compass, as not to re-
strain the movements of the former. We
are fully aware that the strength of ants
is not proportioned to their diminutive-
ness. I seized the female and its com-
panion, and found them to be of the spe-
cies of Fallow Ants. Having placedthem
immediately in liberty, in the midst of
their companions, several surrounded the
female, and caressed her with their an-
tenne. At length one of the labourers,
after giving her several gentle blows with

136 FECUNDATION OF ANTS.

the antenne over the head, took her up
gently by its mandibles, when she laid
hold of them, and rolled herself into a
ball, under the corslet of the worker,
who commenced his route, charged with
his heavy burthen, proceeding at a
quick pace, followed by the other ants,
who came, from time to time, to touch
the object of their solicitude. When
the bearer was fatigued, it turned round;
the female then unrolled her body, and,
in place of being carried, was dragged
along by the worker, who moved in a
retrograde direction, with very little
effort. Sometimes the queen stopped, for
the purpose of changing her conductor:
all her court then surrounded and
offered her every mark of attention. In
witnessing this scene, I was brought to
the entrance of the ant-hill, where I lost
sight of the female and her retinue.

At another time, I took some Yellow
Ants from their nest, with one of their
females, and many small larve. I en-
closed them in a glazed box, giving them

FECUNDATION OF ANTS. 137

earth, and supplying them with food.
This box remained in my chamber dur-
ing the whole of the winter. The ants
were by no means benumbed; they ap-
peared to follow, in every respect, their
instinct, which was most remarkable,
near the female, who, every time she at-
tempted to move, was surrounded by so
great a multitude of workers, that it was
only by their very slow movement I
could be assured of her existence. On
my too frequently visiting the chamber
in which she commonly rested, her
guardians prepared for her another, at a
little distance, and conducted her to it,
enticing her forward by offering her
food.

I preserved this family from the month
of November to the end of April. I
then removed it to another apparatus.
In lieu of a glazed box, I took a large
glass, in the bottom of which I placed a
little earth. I then covered it over with
a little piece of wood, which entered
about midway into the vessel; and on the

138 FECUNDATION OF ANTS.

outside of this wood or plank, in which
an opening had been made, I placed a
variety of plants, chosen from among
those which afford nourishment to the
pucerons. We know that ants are very
friendly to these insects, since they fur-
nish them with their principal subsist-
ence. It was in the superior part of the
vessel that I placed the ants, their fe-
male, their larva, and their pucerons.
They gathered together a little earth,
which they found scattered over the
leaves, and constructed with it a little
lodge, between the branches, where they
conducted their queen. In a few days
they discovered a narrow passage be-
tween the glass and the border of the
plank, and finding some moist earth un-
derneath, they lost no time in construct-
ing, in this place, lodges, paths, and
vaulted chambers. ‘They transported thi-
ther the greater part of the larve; but
they could not so easily introduce the
female. She had descended to the bor-
der of the plank very willingly, and en-

FECUNDATION OF ANTS. 189

deavoured to pass the opening which lay
between it and the side of the glass. She
placed her head almost every moment at
this opening, making every effort to
enter, as if she were aware there was a
space underneath, where she would be
more conveniently lodged. She at length
found a place of sufficient width to
thrust in the whole of her head. The
ants in the lower story, rubbed her with
their mandibles, and caressed her with
their antenne, as if to invite her to fol-
low them. Some seized her by their
mandibles ; others, mounting upon the
plank, drew her by her legs towards the
lower apartment. She several successive
times vainly attempted to insinuate her
body. The ants collected around her,
licked her, and seemed desirous to re-
pair the injury her unfruitful efforts had
occasioned. I now seconded the wish of
these insects. Slightly moving aside the
plank, the workers were enabled to lead
the female to the bottom of her abode,
without further obstacle,

140 FECUNDATION OF ANTS.

We see by these details of the con-
duct of the workers in regard to females,
that if they have deprived them of their
liberty, and their wings, it is with no
other view than that of insuring the po-
pulation of the ant-hill, and that the con-
dition to which nature destines them
yields, in no respect, to that of queen
bees. *

Nature has provided, then, in two ways
for the preservation of the several species
of ants; by allowing females to quit the
place of their birth to form in all places
numerous establishments; and permitting
the labourers, in these communities, to
retain some females, to be assured of the
continuance of each society. ‘The com-
munities of wasps and humble-bees, on
the contrary, are dissolved every year,

* The attachment of the labourers to the females
would appear to extend even beyond the existence
of the latter; for, when a pregnant female dies, five
or six labourers rest near her, and, during several
days, brush and lick her continually, either in token
of lasting affection, or that by these means they
hope to reanimate her. — A.

FECUNDATION OF ANTS. 141

and reproduced every spring. It is thus
she has created annual plants, whose
species is only preserved by seeds, whilst
others subsist entire ages, producing seed
every year, which multiplies in its turn.
May we not extend this comparison to
the republic of bees, whose colonies are
renewed by swarming? We know, by
these great facts, that the same hand has
created both the vegetable and the in-
sect; but it would be wandering from
our present subject to follow up these
considerations, to which we are led even
by the most trifling detail.

142

CHAP. IV.

OF THE RELATION BETWEEN ANTS.

OF those insects that live solitary, their
generation, their private habits, the me-
tamorphoses they undergo, and their
mode of living under each variety of
change, their artifices in attacking
their enemies, and the art with which
they construct their habitations, forms
their whole history. But the history of
insects, living in extensive societies, is not
limited to any remarkable proceedings,
or to the display of any particular talent ;
it offers us a series of links depending
upon common utility, equality or supe-

RELATION BETWEEN ANTS. 143

riority of rank, and the part each indi-
vidual is called upon to perform in the
society of which it is a member. ‘These
several links denote a bond of union be-
tween the different members, that could
not be preserved withoutthe intervention
of language. Under this term I include,
whatever means they possess of express-
ing their desires, their wants, and even
their ideas, if we may be allowed to give
this term to the impulse of instinct. It
would be difficult to explain in any other
manner, that centering of all wills to one
purpose, or that species of harmony
which so universally reigns in their insti-
tutions.

We have already made known several
facts, proving the sociability of ants,
whilst speaking of the education they
give to the little ones of another mother;
of their conduct towards the males and
females; and of the labours they undertake
in common in the construction of their
abode. But these are only to be regarded
as isolated facts, which do not show in

144 RELATION BETWEEN ANTS.

what the true secret of this harmony con-
sists ; and it is, doubtless, only by examin-
ing their conduct under this point of
view, and with much greater attention,
that we can hope to acquire any know-
ledge of the manner in which these dimi-
nutive republics are constituted. For
this end, we shall first study, daily, the re-
lations of ants one with the other; rela-
tions under which we have not yet con-
sidered them, and which will merit a few
moments’ consideration. Let us take,
for this purpose, the most simple and
ordinary traits in the life of these insects.
The guard or sentry of the ant-hill will
furnish us with the first proof of their so-
cial relations.

We could, without doubt, irritate ants
on the surface of the nest, without alarm-
ing those in the interior, if they acted
isolately, and had no means of communi-
cating their mutual impressions. Those
who are occupied at the bottom of their
nest, removed from the scene of danger,
ignorant of what menaces their compa

RELATION BETWEEN ANTS. 145

nions, could not arrive to their assistance ;
but it appears, that they are quickly and
well informed of what is passing on
the exterior, When we attack those
without, the most part engage in their
defence with a considerable degree of
courage: there are always some, who
immediately steal off and produce alarm
throughout their city; the news is com-
municated from quarter to quarter, and
the labourers come forward in a crowd,
with every mark of uneasiness and anger.
What, however, is highly worthy our re-
mark is, that the ants, to whose charge
the young are confided, and who inhabit
the upper stories, where the temperature
is highest, warned also of the impending
danger, always governed by that extreme
solicitude for their charge, which we have
so often admired, hasten to convey them
to the deepest part of their habitation,
and thus deposit them in a place of
safety.

To study in detail the manner in which
this alarm spreads over the ant-hill, we

H

146 RELATION BETWEEN ANTS.

must extend our observation to the indi-
viduals of the largest species: the Her-
culean Ants, who inhabit hollow trees and
who quit them only in the spring, to ac-
company the males and females, have
very much assisted me in this object.
The labourers are from five to six lines
in length; the winged individuals are
also proportionably large: they may be
frequently seen running about the trunk
of an oak, at the entrance of their laby-
rinths. When I disturbed those ants that
were at the greatest distance from their
companions, by either observing them too
closely, or blowing upon them lightly, I
saw them run towards the other ants,
vive them gentle blows with their heads
against the corslet, communicating to
them, in this way, their fear or anger,
passing rapidly from one to the other in
a semicircular direction, and striking
several times successively against those
who did not put themselves in instant
motion. These, warned’of the common
danger, set off immediately, describing

RELATION BETWEEN ANTS. 147

in their turn different curves, and stop-
ping to strike with their heads all those
they met on their passage. In one mo-
ment the signal was general, all the la-
bourers ran over the surface of the tree
with great agitation, those within re-
ceiving notice of the danger, and proba-
bly by the same means, came out in a
crowd and joined this tumult. The
same signal which precuced upon the
workers this effect, causcla different im-
pression upon the males and females; as
soon as one of the labourers had informed
them of their danger, they sought an
asylum, and re-entered precipitately the
trunk of the tree ; — not one thought of
quitting its temporary shelter, until a
worker approached and gave them the
signal for flight. The solicitude of the
labourers in their favour, is manifested in
the activity they display, in giving them
advice or intimating to them the order
for their departure ; they redouble then
the above signals, as if conscious of their
understanding their intent less readily
H 2

148° RELATION BETWEEN ANTS.

than the companions of their labours :
the latter understand them, if I may use
the expression, at half'a word; however,
there are cases, where there is a necessity
for their repetition, as the following ex-
ample will prove. Its detail may appear
minute, but as itis demonstrative of the
ants possessing some kind of language, I
hope to ground my excuse on the im-
portance of the subject.

The. feet of the artificial ant-hill, or
ruche, were plunged in vessels constantly
filled with water; this expedient, ori-
-ginally adopted to arrest the passage of
the ants, proved to them a fruitful source
of delight, for they there slaked their
thirst (like butterflies, bees, and other
insects), during the great heat of sum-
mer. One day, whilst they were assem-
bled at the foot of the ruche, occupied
in licking up the little drops which filter-
ed between the fibres of the wood,
(which they preferred to the taking it
from the bason itself,) I amused myself
in disturbing them. This trifling expe-

RELATION BETWEEN ANTS. 149

riment gave rise to a scene which ap-
peared conclusive. ‘The greater part of
the ants immediately ascended the leg of
the ruche ; a few, however, remained,
whom my presence had not alarmed, and
who continued carousing. But one
of those who had regained the rwche,
came back and approached one of its
companions, who appeared fully absorbed.
in the pleasure of drinking; it pushed it
with its mandibles several times succes-
sively, raising and lowering its head al-
ternately, and at length succeeded in
driving it off The officious ant then
reached another, who was engaged in the
same office, and endeavoured to drive it
off also, by striking the abdomen behind ;
but seeing that it did not appear to, or
would not, understand its meaning, it
approached the corslet, and gave it two
or three blows with the end of its
mandibles. The ant, being at length
apprised of the necessity of withdrawing,
passed precipitately to the bell-glass; a
third, warned in the same manner, and
H 3

150 RELATION BETWEEN ANTS.

by the same ant, quickly regained its ha-
bitation; but a fourth, who remained
alone at the water’s edge, would not re-
tire, notwithstanding numerous proofs of
the solicitude of which it was the object :
— it appeared to pay no attention to the
reiterated blows of its friendly monitor,
who at length seized it by one of its
legs, and dragged it away rather roughly.
The toper, however, returned, keeping
his large pincers extended with all the ap-
pearance of rage, and again stationed
himself to quaff the delightful beverage ;
but its companion would give it no quar-
ter; coming in front, it seized it by its
mandibles, and dragged it very rapidly
into the ant-hill.

These observations show us in what
manner the ants are understood, when
they wish to give friendly notice of the
danger with which they believe them-
selves threatened. Let us now pass on to
the means they employ for directing their
course in their journeys and emigra-
tions.

RELATION BETWEEN ANTS. 151

2. Of the Manner in which Ants ave guided

in their several Excursions,

An ingenious idea, offered by a man of
celebrity, is sometimes sufficient to fix
the opinion of naturalists, who would
rather adopt his idea than take the
trouble of examining for themselves. It
is thus, that M. Bonnet, in comparing
the odour from ants to those threads
which caterpillars, living in a republic,
leave after them, has concluded, that
these insects are guided only by smell.
He remarked, that he could arrest the
passage of ants, by passing his finger oc-
casionally across their path; but he had
not perhaps reflected, that the odour from
his hand was a sufficient barrier to their
progress: this experiment, however, is
not always attended with the same suc-
cess. Some ants are stopped at the mo-
ment, by the new sensation they experi-
ence, but the greater part pass boldly the
space, where we should have imagined
the invisible traces of their passage inter-

H 4

152 RELATION BETWEEN ANTS.

rupted. I put them to a more difficuk
trial, by digging around their nest a ditch
several inches in depth. They appeared
at first to hesitate as to their movement,
but they did not forget the direction of
their ant-hill, knowing the way of return-
ing to it, although the road in this part
was completely destroyed. When they
had traversed this furrow, they often re-
turned behind, exploring the ground, as
if to observe their route for the purpose
of again remembering it.

Why exclude sight, touch, and me-
mory, from the part they take in regulat-
ing the conduct of ants? Objects,
which by us would be passed un-
noticed on account of their diminutive-
ness, may be very remarkable with re-
spect tothem. We may be convinced by
what follows, of the fidelity of their me-
mory,’ and of the subtilty of their
senses.

If ants had nothing to direct them in
their journeys but the odour they leave
after them, how could they possibly as-

RELATION BETWEEN ANTS. 153

certain their route when continued rains
have soaked the ground they are to run
over, and effaced the traces of their steps,
or when violent winds have dispersed
their emanations. One would think
they would be thrown in disorder; this
however is not the case: they find again
the places they before frequented, go
considerable distancesto seek provisions ;
and know every route which leads to the
ant-hill. — I do not deny that the sense of
smelling may be one of the means they
possess in tracing their route, but there
are circumstances in which sensations in
that way would throw them into the
greatest perplexity. We well know that
several wild deer will deceive the best
dogs of chace, by retracting their steps
in their several turnings and windings ;
—the ants would be deceived in like
manner by the emanation from their com-
panions, if they possessed not the know-
ledge of places, from the inspection of
objects, the memory of localities, or from
other resources, to us unknown.
HO

154 RELATION BETWEEN ANTS.

[ have often amused myself by dis-
persing in my chamber the fragments of
one of their nests. I expected to see
the ants follow each others’ track, and
move in one unbroken chain (as we find
to be the case with caterpillars) to seek
a place of shelter ; but this was not the
plan they followed; they diverged on all
sidesand took a thousand different routes:
each pursued his own way. ‘They encoun-
tered each other at different points with-
out appearing to have the slightest idea
of any clue that might direct them. I
saw them for a long time wandering
about at random before they found a
place where they could all assemble.
One of them having discovered in the
flooring a little chink through which it
could glide into a darkened cayity, re-
turned to its companions, and, by means
of certain movements with its antenne,
imparted to them the joyful intelligence.
It even directed some by accompany-
ing them to the entrance of this aperture,
and these, in their turn, served as guides

RELATION BETWEEN ANTS. 155

to the rest. very time they met, they
stopped and struck each other with their
antennz in a very remarkable manner,
and appeared fully instructed of the route
they should take. In this way, the
whole of this busy group were securely
lodged in the same place.

If we could remove an ant at the mo-
ment of her discovering a repository of
confectionary, &c. none of her compa-
nions would be able to arrive there;
since it is not her traces that con-
duct them to the spot, she is under
the necessity of returning to the ant-
hill and bringing off her compa-
nions. * What difficulty has she not in

* Dr. Franklin, upon discovering a number of
ants regaling themselves with some treacle in one
of his cupboards, put them to the rout, and then
suspended the pot of treacle, by a string, from the
ceiling. He imagined he had put the whole army
to flight, but was surprised to see a single ant quit
the pot, climb up the string, cross the ceiling, and
regain its nest. In less than half an hour several!
of its companions sallied forth, traversed the ceil-
ing, and reached the depository, which they con-

H 6

156 -RELATION BETWEEN ANTS:

finding her route? how many times doeg
she not stop in going to, or returning
from this land of promise? She endea-
vours to discover the places that lay in
her former route ; she is seen to halt al-
most every instant, until she happens
to meet with some visible or palpable
clue, as the extremity of a road, or the

stantly revisited until the treacle was consumed.
The Doctor was therefore of opinion, that ants
were enabled to communicate their ideas to each
other.— Ina memoir, published im the Transactions
of the French Academy, an account is given of a
solitary ant that was taken from its nest, and thrown
on a heap of corn: it was observed, after surveying
this treasure, to hasten immediately back to its
residence, where it doubtless communicated to its
associates this intelligence; for the granary was very
soon filled with visitors, and the corn taken away.
The fallacy of the statement respecting ants laying
up a store of provision for their winter consump-
tion, particularly corn, is now very generally ad-
mitted; it has been ascertained that ants, (at least
those of this country;) during that season, lie in a
state of torpor, and therefore require no food,
Gould, who published a memoir on these insects in
1747, pointed out this error ; and since his time, it
has been fully confirmed by the most experienced
entomologists. — T.

RELATION BETWEEN ANTS. 157

base of a wall, which she can follow with-
out hesitation. Should she fall in with
any of her associates from the nest they
put her in the right way by the contact
of their antennee.— This method of guid-
ing their companions is not practised by
every species of ants; for some employ,
under certain circumstances, a process
more mechanical and less rapid than
the fugitive signs of which the an-
tennz are the organs. ‘This is the sub-
ject upon which we shall now touch in
speaking of their migrations.

3. The Migrations of the Fallow Anis.

AnTs are now and then induced to
change theirresidence. Should it be too
much in the shade, too humid, too ex-
posed to the attacks of passengers, or
too contiguous to an enemy’s quarters,
thus rendering it unsafe as well as un-
pleasant, they leave it to lay the founda-
tion of another in some other place.

158 RELATION BETWEEN ANTS.

This I have denominated migration, the
term colony offering no sufficiently just
idea, since we do not speak, in this in-
stance, of a portion of the metropolis, but
of a whole nation removing to a new city.
However, I shall occasionally employ it
under the same acceptation. Do ants
determine upon the propriety of remov-
ing to another abode after general deli-
beration?. How do they appoint the
place of rendezvous, and the day of de-
parture? These questions, and the facts
connected with them, have hitherto
escaped the attention of naturalists ;
although several (Bonnet, Latreille,
Bomare) have sufficiently spoken of a
practice common enough among ants, —
that of their carrying each other; yet
they were ignorant if they should attri-
bute this conduct to the sickness, infancy,
or old age of those ants that were borne
by their companions.

I was equally ignorant of their inten-
tion in this respect; but having one day
deranged the habitation of a colony of

17*

RELATION BETWEEN ANTS. 159

Fallow Ants, I perceived they had chang-
ed their domicile. I saw, at the distance
of ten paces from their nest, a fresh ant-
hill, which communicated with the old
by a path struck out in the grass, along
which the ants were passing and re-pass-
ing in great number. I remarked that
all those going towards the new establish-
ment were loaded with their companions,
whilst those moving in a contrary direc-
tion were running one after the other * :

* Having kept a considerable time in captivity @
colony of Red Ants, I was anxious to observe their
proceeding on being placed at liberty. I there-
fore dug a hole in the garden, in which I deposited
their nest. The first day but very few quitted it, as
they had been liberally supplied with provision ;
the second day, they left the nest in great numbers
to visit the environs; the third day they remained
within, being detained by the rain; the fourth day,
they visited as before the neighbourhood, but to-
wards the evening, I was greatly surprised to see all
those quitting the nest carrying their companions,
whilst those returning to the nest, came unattended ;
the latter, however, lost no time in bearing away in
their pincers their associates. This scene was con-
tinued without interruption, on the following day,
when the emigration was complete, and a new esta-
blishment formed. — T.

160 RELATION BETWEEN ANTS.

these were no doubt returning to
the old nest, to seek inhabitants for the
new. ‘This proved an additional source
of knowledge.

From that period, I put several of these
republics to the same proof. I destroyed
so often the roof of their underground
city, that I completely succeeded in
driving them from their residence. ‘The
first and second time they repaired the
breaches I had made; at the third
they began seeking an asylum less
exposed to such accidents. I then
observed one of the labourers leave the
nest, carrying one of its companions sus-
pended by its mandibles: I followed it
until it reached the border of a subterra-
nean cavity, in which it deposited its
burden.

The number of these carriers or por-
ters, at first but trifling, increased each
moment. I only noticed, at the com-
mencement, two or three in the path; but,
after they had carried off several others,
to begin their operations at the new ant-

RELATION BETWEEN ANTS. 161

hill, one part of the colony went, in their
turn, to the ancient nest, and thence drew,
as from a nursery, subjects for the new
city. To judge with what ardour they
were occupied with their colony, it was
only necessary to watch the arrival of new
recruits to the natal ant-hill. They ap-
proached in haste several ants, caressed
them individually with their antenne,
drew them forth by their pincers, and
actually appeared to propose to them the
journey. When they saw they were dis-
posed to set off, I observed them seize
them by their mandibles, and whilst the
one destined to be the porter or carrier
turned about to take up the other it had
brought over to its views, the latter rolled
itself up, suspended from the neck of the
former. All this took place in the most
amicable manner, passing and repassing
the antenne over the head of each other,
with movements little varying from those
when they are about to take their food.
It sometimes, however, happened, that
those who were desirous of the change

162 RELATION BETWEEN ANTS.

seized the other ants by surprise, and
dragged them out of the ant-hill, allow-
ing them no time to offer resistance; they
bore them off with great rapidity, and
when they had nearly arrived to their
new habitation, the ants suspended by
their mandibles unrolled themselves, and
quitted their conductors.

The «number of recruits increases al-
ways in rapid progression; the path com-
municating with the two cities is filled ;
the natal ant-hill is covered, and its sur-
face is the theatre of their excursions and
their enlevemens: they never return to
the new colony, without bringing back
some pledge of their dispatch or address.

My glass frames often permitted me to
see what occurred in the interior of ant-
hills during the emigration, for when the
labourers espied any issue that had es-
caped my vigilance, they profited by it
to seek another asylum. ‘They spread
themselves at first separately over the
floor, and observed all the corners of my
study, hoping to discover an asylum in

RELATION BETWEEN ANTS. 163 .

which they might be sheltered: this
obtained, they began to recruit. That
ant which had found a place of safety,
went immediately to seek its companions,
one after the other, on the floor, then in
the ant-hill: but it was sufficient, by
simply taking away at the time the first
recruit, to stop the emigration, at least
until some other ant had discovered an
equally convenient retreat.

The recruiting continued several days;
but when the whole of the labourers
knew the route to their new habitation,
they ceased to carry each other. They
had by this time constructed large vaulted
chambers, avenues, and lodges; they
first brought off their pups and larve,
then the males and females. When the
removal was complete, they for ever
abandoned the artificial ant-hill, and the
road which led to it.

But upon opening the shutter of my
ruche whilst the emigration on the ex-
terior was in full activity, all appeared
tranquil within ; those recruiting, arrived

*

164 RELATION BETWEEN ANTS.

at the very gate of the ant-hill, but the
ants, who were not immediately the ob-
ject of their search, paid no attention to
their proceedings; they continued, as
usual, their ordinary avocations, and did
not appear to suspect what was going for-
ward so near them. Thus, these en/eve-
mens produce no sensation but in the
very spot where they take place, which
proves, that the ants do not take coun-
sel of the whole republic when they feel
inclined to change their abode. That
ant which discovers a situation favour-
able to the establishment of an ant-hill,
conducts its companions to it, and these,
in their turn, go and seek new inhabi-
tants. It now and then happens that
several workers undertake at the same
time to found a new city, and conduct
there the whole colony, which gives
place to a temporary existence of several
ant-hills; but these insects are soon aware
of this division, and do not delay, in the
last recruiting, bringing the whole colony
into one nest,

»

RELATION BETWEEN ANTS. 165

When the ants are displeased with the
city they have chosen, they quit it for a
third, and pass sometimes even to a
fourth, where they definitively fix. We
even see them very frequently return to
the ancient nest before being fully es-
tablished in the new. ‘The recruiting
then takes place in a contrary direction,
and the couples meet each other in the
same road, but the last has always the
advantage over the preceding emigra-
tions.

When the new ant-hill is at a consider-
able distance from the old, the ants com-
monly establish some intermediate resi-
dence, in which they deposit the recruits,
the larvee, the males, and the females,
which they are unable to carry in one
journey to their proper destination. I
have seen several of these relays establish-
ed upon the same route; they consisted
of cavities piercedin the earth, containing
sufficiently spacious apartments, generally
covered with fragments of straw, and
resembling small ant-hills. We might

166 RELATION BETWEEN ANTS.

there observe some sentinels doing daily
duty, that is to say, opening and closing
the gates of the ant-hill morning and
evening ; sometimes these asylums be-
come little colonies, which maintain a
close connection with the principal ant-
hill; they are different habitations, com-
mon to the same ants, serving them for
places of refuge on any derangement of
what we might term their capital. *

I have often seen in fir-forests, very
large ant-hills contiguous to each other, —
communicating together, like cities of
the same empire, by regular tracks : —
these tracks are sometimes as much
as a hundred feet in length, and seve-
ral inches in breadth; they are not
produced by the passing and repassing of
the ants, several thousands of whom are
in motion each day from one ant-hill to
the other, but are excavated by the ants

* Mr. Kirby mentions a similar circumstance.
In speaking of a colony of that species, termed
the Hill Ant (F. rufa): he informs us, that their
nest was one of considerable magnitude, and that
at certain distances from it, they had established
six or seven smaller settlements. — T.

RELATION BETWEEN ANTS. 167

themselves. I have often seen these in-
sects occupied in establishing them, or in
giving them greater breadth. This art
belongs exclusively to the Fallow Ants ;
but the recruiting is common to them,
with the Herculean, Ethiopian, Ash-
coloured, the Sanguine, and the Mining
Ant. That very valuable gift of being
directed in their movements by means
of the antennez, of which we have before
spoken, is in use among the Brown, the
Yellow, t 1e Fuliginous, and several other
ants.

We have one word to say respecting
Field Ants, which take a middle place
between the two genera we have de-
scribed, inasmuch as they sometimes con-
duct themselves peaceably towards each
other, and regulate their movements by
signs; but what is very remarkable is,
the manner in which they take off their
recruits ; in place of carrying them rolled
up and suspended under their neck, they
hold them in a contrary direction; they
also take them up by their mandibles, but

168 | RELATION BETWEEN ANTS,

with their head below, and their body
raised in the air.* It never happens, as
had been supposed, that the labourer
who wishes to be carried fastens himself
by force upon one of its companions.
The Brown and Fuliginous Ants, who
are not in the habit of carrying each
other in their migrations, have re-
course, notwithstanding, to this expedient
with regard to the males, females, and
labourers, lately transformed; which
amounts to the proof, that these do not
well understand their language, and
could not be their own directors.

4. Of the Affection of Ants for their. Com-—

panions.

Tue affection between members con-
stituting one and the same family is,
without doubt, the just basis for har-

* M. Bonnet was inclined to believe, that they
are treated in this way only, when their companions
are irritated or out of temper ; that they then dart
upon each other, and when one of the champions
has seized its adversary on the upper part of the
neck, it maintains an obstinate hold. — A.

RELATION BETWEEN ANTS. 169

mony and public good. Even were we —
not accustomed to regard the actions of
insects as mechanical, we could not pos-
sibly explain the order so conspicuous
among bees and ants, without supposing
them endowed with an attachment to
their fraternity, which inspires them with
that great zeal for the well-being of the
colony, with that attention and that de-
votedness, of which they offer striking
examples every instant of their life.
With us, intimacy results from some
decided preference; with them, this af-
fection has nothing exclusive, offering
rather an idea of the patriotism which
accords with republican states. Their
friendship is never destroyed by the
shock of contending passions; there is
not to be found amongst them either
hatred, rivalry, or dissension. What in-
dividual is not acquainted with the de-
votedness of bees for their republic!
The females, even of the larger animals,
do not defend their little ones with more
spirit and obstinacy. Ants yield in no
I

176° RELATION BETWEEN ANTS.

respect to bees : it is well known, that we
may divide ants ‘in the middle of their
body, without taking from them the desire
of defending their domicile, that the head
and corslet, although separated from
the abdomen, still continue in mo-
tion, and that, in this state, the ant
will convey the pupe to their asy-
lum.* Thus the great secret of the

* This can scarcely be adduced as an instance of
the affection of this insect for the young confided to
its care; for had it been engaged in any other
operation, it is most likely it would have continued
it until its strength totally failed. It is well known
that many insects, after the loss of their principal
members, still continue their customary avocations.
I have myself seen a wasp walking (seemingly un-
concerned), about a sugar-hogshead, three hours
after its abdomen had been removed. Fothergill,
if I mistake not, threw his hat at a dragon-fly
( Libellula), and by accident separated its body. It
made several efforts, but ineffectually, from want of
its proper counterpoise, to take flight. Whilst it
was in this state a fly was presented to it, which it
devoured very greedily. The common caterpillar
(Melolontha vulgaris) will continue to walk about
even when deprived of half its entrails. Dr. Arnold,
after transfixing an insect (Scolia quadrimaculata)
with a pin, placed it in a box with other insects,
where it afterwards got loose, and notwithstanding

RELATION BETWEEN ANTS. 171

harmony we admire in these republics
rests in their reciprocal affection. It
will be enough to bring to remembrance
what M. Latreille has mentioned, re-
specting some ants, who, upon witness-
ing the suffering of their companions,
whose antenne he had cut off, dropped
from their mouth, upon the wounded
part, a little transparent liquor, of which
they knew, perhaps, the full virtue. I
have no equally affecting instances to re-
late. I shall, however, mention two,
which prove the lasting attachment of
members of the same republic, and the
desire that their associates might also
participate in their pleasures.

I took, in the month of April, an ant-
hill from the woods, for the purpose of
populating my large glazed apparatus ;
but, having more ants than I had occa-
sion for, I gave liberty to a considerable

its previous impalement, actually destroyed another
insect (Sphinx stellarum) in the same box, which
usually constituted its food. — T,

r@

172 RELATION BETWEEN ANTS.

number in the garden of the house where
I lived. ‘The latter fixed their abode
at the foot of a chesnut tree. The for-
mer became the subject of some pri-
vate observations. I noticed them four
months, without allowing them to quit
my study; at this time, wishing to bring
them nearer to a state of nature, I car-
ried the ruche into the garden, and
placed it at ten or fifteen paces from the
natural ant-hill. The prisoners, profiting
by my negligence of not renewing the
water which blockaded their passage,
escaped, and ran about the environs of
their abode. The ants, established near
the chesnut tree, met, and recognised
their former companions ; fell to mutual
caresses with their antennez, took them
up by their mandibles, and led them to
their own nests: they came presently in
a crowd to seek the fugitives, under and
about the artificial ant-hill, and even ven-
tured to reach the bell-glass, where they
e¥ected a complete desertion, by carry-
ing away successively all the ants they

Q

RELATION BETWEEN ANTS. 173

found there. In a few days the ruche
was depopulated. These ants had re-
mained four months without any commu-
nication. I placed some Fallow Ants in
another artificial ant-hill, the frame of
which, in place of lying perpendicular
with the table, as in figure 1. was inclined
some degrees. This disposition displeas-
ed the ants (I know not why), and they
established themselves underneath the
bell-glass in the materials of their nest,
which had been brought with them. It
was, however, necessary, to allow of my
making any observations, they should re-
main in the frame, and I hoped to retain
them there, by the attraction of heat.
For this purpose I brought a flambeau
close to the frame, and kept it in the
same position, until the glass had ac-
quired a sufficiently high temperature.
There were some ants in this place; as
soon as they perceived the heat, they be-
gan to be animated, manifested ‘their
comfort by brushing their head and an-
tenne with their feet, and ran over, with
13

174: RELATION BETWEEN ANTS.

rapidity, the warm space. When they
saw other ants, they approached them,
moved about their antennz with singu-
lar quickness, and then immediately left
them. ‘They appeared desirous to re-
mount under the bell-glass; they went
even to the border of the table, but re-
tained, without doubt, by the mild tem-
perature they experienced in the frame,
they often returned to it; they took, at
length the measure of mounting into the
upper story. I knew enough of the
habits of ants to be well aware they were
only gone to intimate to their compa-
nions this heat, to which they attached
such value. In short, I presently saw
two descend into the frame, carrying in
their mouths two labourers, whom they
deposited in the warmest place; they
then returned immediately into the up-
per part of the ruche. 'The new arrivals,
after having warmed themselves, mount-
ed also under the glass, when, in a few
minutes after, I saw the whole four re-
descend, each bearing another ant sus-

RELATION BETWEEN ANTS. 175

pended by its mandibles. ‘This trans-
port continued in rapid progressiov, un-
til there arrived, by hundreds, the re-
cruits, with their living burthens, and
there remained no longer any ants in the
superior part of the ruche. When 1}
ceased warming the frame, the ants re-
gained the glass, but as often as I ap-
proached the flambeau, this social pro-
ceeding again took place. *

* That ants will occasionally avail themselves of
the heat supplied by other sources besides the sun,
is sufficiently evident from what follows: ‘ M.
Reaumur, in refuting the common notion of ants
being injurious to bees, tells us, that societies of
the former often saved themselves the trouble of
removing the larve, &c. from place to place, by
establishing their colonies between the exterior
wooden shutters and panes of his glass hives, where,
owing to the latter substance being a tolerably
good conductor for heat, their progeny was, at all
times, and without any necessity of changing their
situation, in a constant, equable, and _ sufficient
temperature. Bonnet observed the same fact. He
found that a society of ants had piled up their
young to the height of several inches, between the
flannel-lined case of his glass hives and the glass.
When disturbed they ran away with them, but al-
ways replaced them. I am persuaded that, after
duly considering these facts, you will agree with

I 4

176 RELATION BETWEEN ANTS.

These observations, and many others,
which I shall not now mention, by show-

me that it is impossible consistently to refer them
to instinct, or to account for them without suppos-
ing some stray ant, that had insinuated herself into
this tropical crevice, first to have been struck with
the thought of what a prodigious saving of labour
and anxiety would occur to her compatriots by
establishing their society here; that she had com-
municated her zdeas to them; and that they had
resolved upon an emigration to this newly dis-
covered country —this Madeira of ants, whose
genial clime presented advantages which no other
situation could offer. Neither instinct, nor any con-
ceivable modification of instinct, could have taught
the ants to avail themselves of a good fortune,
which, but for the invention of glass hives, would
never have offered itself to a generation of these
insects since the creation; for there is nothing
analagous in nature to the constant and equable
warmth of such a situation, the heat of any acci-
dental mass of fermenting materials soon ceasing,
and no heat being given out from a society of bees
-when lodged in a hollow tree, their natuzal resi-
dence. ‘The conclusion, tlien, seems irresistible,
that reason must have been their guide, inducing a
departure from their natural instinct; as extra.
ordinary as would be that of a hen which should
lay her eggs in a hot-bed, and cease to sit upon
them.” — Introduction to Entomology, by Kirby
and Spence, Vol. Il. p. 518. — T.

RELATION BETWEEN ANTS. I7/

ing what interest the ants take in the
welfare of their companions, bring to
mind those ideal republics in which all
wealth should be general, public interest
serving as a rule of conduct for the ci-
tizens. It belonged only to nature to
realize this chimera, and it is only among
insects, exempt from our passions, that
she thought she could establish this or-
der of things. She has given to antsa
language of communication by the con-
tact of their antennz ; with these or-
gans they are enabled to render mutual
assistance in their labours, and in their
dangers ; discover again their route when
they have lost it, and make each other
acquainted with their necessities. We
see, then, that insects which live in so-
ciety are in possession of a language. In
consequence of enjoying a language, in
common with us, although in an inferior
degiee, have they not greater import-
ance in our eyes, and do they not em-
bellish the very spectacle of the uni-
verse ?
15

178

CHAP. V.

OF THE WARS OF ANTS, AND SOME OTHER
PARTICULARS.

Tue scourge of war, is it inseparable
from the state of society? Ants, whose
civilization appears more developed than
we had reason to expect, whose manners
announce harmony, reciprocal attention,
regard for their females, union and _per-
fect equality between the several mem-
bers of their republic, do they present us
‘an example of that law, which ordains,
that species too abundant should be their
own destroyers? Nature has so willed
it! It was necessary that ants should still
have with us this relation, the necessity
for which rests upon plans too elevated
for our feeble conception.

WARS OF ANTS. 179

That kind of aggression which is prac-
tised by considerable armies, and is ma-
nifested in frequent combats, widely dif-
fers from the artifices of those insects
that take their prey by surprise ; — some
by means of nets which they spread,
others by the aid of those ingenious
snares into which ants themselves uncon-
sciously fall. * It is only to the wars in

* There are some animals, that from living al-
most entirely on ants, have obtained the name of
ant-eaters, (Myrmecophaga). On paying its ac-
customed visit to the ant-hill, this animal makes a
considerable disturbance, and then extends its
long and tapering tongue on the ground. The
ants, coming out to see what is the matter, un-
aware of the nature of the trap laid for them, pass
on the tongue in great numbers, where they are re-
tained by a thick viscous fluid. The Woodpecker
occasionally adopts a similar plan, and thus pro-
cures an abundant repast; but the most ingenious
contrivance to entrap ants, is that practised by a
little insect termed the Ant-Lion, ( Myrmeleon For-
micarius). ‘This insect in its larva state, can walk
no other way than backward; it is therefore evi-
dent, that its prey must come immediately within
its reach, since it is unprovided with the means of
advancing to secure it. To effect this, it forms a

1 6

180 WARS OF ANTS.

which we engage that we can compare
those of ants; we may, therefore, tole-

conical cavity of about two inches in depth ina
loose, dry, sandy soil. It commences its operations
by describing a circle in the sand, it then takes its
' station within, and moving in a retrograde direction,
shovels up the sand with its fore-feet on the back
part of its head, which is flat and square, from which,

py a sudden jerk, it is projected to the distance of
several inches. As its work proceeds it describes
smaller circles within the first, until they are re-
duced to almost a mere point. Onits meeting any
impediment to its labours, such as small stones, &c.
it places them one by one on its head, and, if pos-
sible, jerks them beyond the mouth of the pit;
failing of this, it endeavours to deposit its load at
the entrance of the cavern, by mounting backward
with cautious steps, Its efforts are often unsuccess-
ful, for the instability of the ground over which it
is obliged to. pass renders this a task of extreme
difficulty. It does not, however, forego its object,
nor is it at all discouraged by two or three failures,
but when every probability of success is withdrawn,
it abandons its employment, and seeks another situ-
ation, where it, with wonderful patience, enters
upon another excavation.. Its residence finished, it
occupies the lower part, concealing its body by a
coating of sand. Here it quietly remains until
some stray amit, passing this way, and venturing to

WARS OF ANTS. 181

rate, in favour of this resemblance, ex-
pressions a little too pompous for the
heroines whose history [ am writing: we
cannot invent a particular language for
these insects, we must therefore make
use of the terms employed when speaking
of war.

I shall not now describe the kind of
chase which ants give to those insects
they find in their journies ; the whole of
their art being then limited to their as-
sembling together for the purpose of
assailing and dragging them to the ant-
hill. ‘The ants of southern countries,
more warlike than ours, attack little quad-
rupeds and destroy rats and other noxious

cross the sides of the pit, is carried by the sliding
sand within the grasp of its oppressor. It may be
that the ant, on perceiving its danger, endeavours
to scramble up the embankment; but our wary
friend, unwilling to be deprived of his long-expected
meal, shakes off his usual inactivity, and by a
timely shower of sand, seldom fails of bringing
down its victim. Like most insects that lie in wait
for prey, the Ant-Liomis capable of enduring very
long abstinence, -—— T.

182 WARS OF ANTS.

animals, while the beetle and caterpillar
are the largest insects upon which the
ants of Europe make war: they will,
however, dissect very neatly lizards, and
other dead animals. Ants make their
attack openly; cunning is not in the
number of their arms; those of which
they make use, are the same pincers they
employ for carrying the materials of their
nests, a sting resembling that of bees, and
the venom which accompanies it, an acid
liquor contained in their abdomen, which
produces a slight irritation on the skin.
These arms, as before stated, are only
possessed by the females and workers, to
whom nature has confided the several in-
terests of the colony. The males take
no part in its preservation, except in the
reproduction of the species. ‘The fe-
males, doubtless too valuable to allow of
their exposing their lives, always make
their escape on the slightest danger.
The workers are those only destined to
defend their habitation.

Several species are unprovided with a

WARS OF ANTS. 183

sting, but they supply its place by biting
their enemy and pouring into the wound
they inflict with their teeth, a drop of
venom, which renders it exceedingly
painful. They bend, for that purpose,
their abdomen, which contains the
venomous liquor, and approach it to the
wounded part, at the very same moment
they tear it with their pincers. When
their adversaries keep only at a distance,
and they are unable to reach them, they
all raise themselves on their hind feet,
and, bringing their abdomen between
their legs, spurt their venom with some
degree of force. We see ascend, from
the whole surface of the nest, a thick
cloud of formic acid, which exhales an
almost sulphureous odour.

Of all the enemies of the ant, those
most dreaded are the ants themselves;
the smallest not the least, since several
fasten at once upon the feet of the largest,
drag them on the ground, embarrass
their movements, and thus prevent their
escape. One would be astonished at the

184 - WARS OF ANTS.

fury of these insects in their combats ; it
would be more easy to tear away their
limbs and cut them in pieces, than com-
pel them to quit their hold. It is nothing
uncommon to see the head of an ant sus-
pended to the legs or antennee of some
worker, who bears about, in every place,
this pledge of his victory. We also ob-
serve, not unfrequently, the ants drag-
ging after them the entire body of some
enemy they had killed some time before,
fastened to their feet in such a way as
not to allow of their disengaging them-
selves.

Supposing the ants to be of equal size,
those furnished with a sting have an ad-
vantage over those who employ only for
their defence their venom and their teeth.
The whole of those ants whose peduncle
has no scale, but one or two knots, are
provided with a sting; the Red Ants,
which are said to sting more sharply than
the rest, possess both these sorts of arms.
In general the ants furnished with a sting
are, in our country, some of the smallest.

WARS OF ANTS. 185

I know but one species of middle size ;
but it is very rare and only inhabits the
Alps.

The wars entered into by ants of dif-
ferent size bear no resemblance to those
in which ants engage who come to com-
bat with an equal force. When the large
attack the small, they appear to do it by
surprise, most likely to prevent the latter
from fastening upon their legs; they
seize them in the upper part of the body
and strangle them immediately between
their pincers. But when the small ants
have time to guard against an attack,
they intimate to their companions the
danger with which they are threatened,
when the latter arrive in crowds to their
assistance. I have witessed a battle be-
tween the Herculean and the Sanguine
Ants; the Herculean Ants quitted the
trunk of the tree in which they had es-
tablished their abode, and arrived to the
very gates of the dwelling of the Sanguine
Ants; the latter, only half the size of
their adversaries, had the advantage in

186 WARS OF ANTS.

point of number; they, however, acted
on the defensive. The earth, strewed
with the dead bodies of their compatriots,
bore witness they had suffered the greatest
carnage: they, therefore, took the pru-
dent part cf fixing their habitation else-
where, and with great activity trans-
ported to a distance of fifty feet from the
spot, their companions, and the several
objects that interested them. Small de-
tachments of the workers were posted at
little distances from the nest, apparently
placed there to cover the march of the
recruits and to preserve the city itself
from any sudden attack. They struck
against each other when they met, and
had always their mandibles separated in
the attitude of defiance. As soon as the
Herculean Ants approached their camp,
the centinels in front assailed them with
fury; they fought at first in single com-
bat. The Sanguine Ant threw himself
upon the Herculean Ant, fastened upon
its head, turned its abdomen against the
- chest of its adversary or against the lower

WARS OF ANTS. 187

part of its mouth, and inundated it with
venom. It sometimes quitted its anta-
gonist with great quickness; more fre-
quently, however, the Herculean Ant
held between its feet its audacious
enemy. The two champions then rolled
themselves in the dust and struggled
violently. The advantage was at first in
favour of the largest ant; but its adversary
was soon assisted by those of its own
party, who collected around the Hercu-
lean Antandinflicted several deep wounds
with their teeth. The Herculean Ant
yielded to numbers; it either perished
the victim of its temerity, or was con-
ducted a prisoger to the enemy’s camp. *

* I retained in close captivity in the same box,
nearly a month, about an equal number of Red and
Yellow Ants. It would seem that a general feeling
of compassion for their unfortunate imprisonment
had given birth to a suspension of hostilities, and
that rankling animosity had been exchanged for
good-will and social order. During this period I
seldom witnessed any affray on the exterior-of the
nest, and on breaking it up, the interior gave me
no room to suppose it had been the scene of much
contention; but scarcely were they liberated,

188 WARS OF ANTS.

Such are the combats between ants of
different size; but if we wish to behold
regular armies, war in all its form, we
must visit those forests in which the
Fallow. Ants establish their dominion
over every insect in their territory. We
shall there see populous and rival cities,
regular roads passing from the ant-hill as

scarcely did they feel the fresh breeze passing over
them, than their animosity rekindled, and the field
of their liberty became the theatre of sanguinary
combat. For a few moments each party seemed
engaged in discovering a place of retreat, and it was
only on returning to the ruins of their original
prison, to bring off the rest of their companions, that
they encountered and waged way upon each other.
What was as singular as unexpected, they fought in
pairs, in no one instunce en masse ; indeed, it only
twice happened, although the ground was strewed
with combatants, that a third came to the aid of
its companion, and even then, as if conscious of the
unequal contest, one immediately retired. It was
inconceivable with what desperate fury, and with
what determined obstinacy they fastened upon
each other. With their mandibles alone they often
succeeded in effecting a complete separation of the
body of their antagonist, of which the ground ex-
hibited many proofs when IJ revisited it. — T.

WARS OF ANTS. 189

so many rays from a centre, and frequent-
ed by an immense number of combat-
ants, wars between hordes of the same
species, for they are naturally enemies
and jealous of the territory which bor-
ders their own capital. It is in these
forests, I have witnessed the inhabitants
of two large ant-hills engaged in spirited
combat. I cannot pretend to say what
eccasioned discord between these re-
publics. They were composed of ants
of the same species, alike in their extent
and population, and were situated about
a hundred paces distance from each
other. ‘Two empires could not possess a
greater number of combatants.

Let us figure to ourselves this pro-
digious crowd of insects covering the
ground lying between these two ant-
hills, and occupying a space of two feet
in breadth. Both armies met at half-way
from their respective habitations, and
there the battle commenced. Thousands
of ants took their station upon the
highest ground, and fought in pairs,

190 WARS OF ANTS.

keeping firm hold of their antagonists
by their mandibles: a considerable num-
ber were engaged in the attack and lead-
ing away prisoners. ‘The latter made
several ineffectual efforts to escape, as
if aware that, upon their arrival at the
camp they would experience a cruel
death. The scene of warfare occupied
a space of about three feet square; a
penetrating odour exhaled from all sides;
numbers of dead ants were seen cover-
ed with venom. Those ants composing
groups and chains, took hold of each
other’s legs and pincers, and dragged
their antagonists on the ground. ‘These
groups formed successively. ‘The fight
usually commenced between two ants,
who seized each other by the mandibles,
and raised themselves upon their hind-
legs, to allow of their bringing their ab-
domen forward, and spurting the venom
upon their adversary. They were fre-
quently so closely wedged together that
they fell upon their sides, and fought a
long time, in that situation, in the dust;

WARS OF ANTS. 191

they shortly after raised themselves, when
each began dragging its adversary; but
when their force was equal, the wrestlers
remained immoveable, and fixed each
other to the ground, until a third came
to decide the contest. It more com-
monly happened that both ants received
assistance at the same time, when the
whole four, keeping firm hold of a foot
or antenna, made ineffectual attempts
to gain the battle. Some ants joined the
latter, and these were, in their turn,
seized by new arrivals. It was in this
way they formed chains of six, eight, or
ten ants, all firmly locked together ; the
equilibrium was only broken when seve-
ral warriors, from the same republic
advanced at the same time, who com-
pelled those that were enchained to let
go their hold, when the single combats
again took place. On the approach of
night each party returned gradually to
the city, which served it for an asylum.
The ants, which were either killed or
led away in captivity, not being replaced

192 WARS OF ANTS.

by others, the number of combatants di-
minished, until their force was exhausted.

The ants returned to the field of battle
before dawn. ‘The groups again formed ;
the carnage recommenced with greater
fury than on the preceding evening, and
the scene of combat occupied a space of
six feet in length by two in breadth.
Success was for a long time doubtful;
about mid-day the contending armies had
removed to the distance of a dozen feet
from one of their cities, whence I con-
clude some ground had been gained.
The ants fought so desperately, that
nothing could withdraw them from their
enterprize; they did not even perceive
my presence, and although I remained
close to the army, none of them climbed
upon my legs; they seemed absorbed in
one object, that of finding an enemy
to contend with.

This devotion for their country, is it
not astonishing in such little msects?
Can we conceive how nature, has inspired
them with such interest for the colony

WARS OF ANTS. 1935

an which they equally labour? These
wars offer something still more surpris-
ing — the instinct which enables each ant
to know his own party. How and by
what sign do they distinguish their com-
patriots, in a contest, in which thousands
of individuals of the same colour, of the
same size, of the same odour, and even
of the very same species, meet, attack, or
defend themselves, inundate their ad-
versaries with venom, and lead away pri-
soners? ‘They march with defiance;
even at the time they are approaching
their companions they keep their man-
dibles wide asunder. They sometimes at-
tack those of their own party; but on
recognising them, immediately relax their
hold. It often happens that those who
are the object of this temporary error
caress their compatriots with their an-
tenn, and readily appease their anger.
What an idea does not this give us of the
bond of union between these insects,
and of the subtlety of their senses.

The common operations of the two

K

194 WARS OF ANTS.

colonies were not suspended during this
- warfare: the paths, which led to a dis-
tance in the forest, were as much throng-
ed as in a time of peace, and all around
the ant-hill order and tranquillity pre-
vailed, with the exception only of that
side on which the battle was raging. A
crowd of these insects were constantly
seen to be setting off for the scene of
combat, while others were returning
with their prisoners. This ,war ter-
minated without any disastrous results
to the two republics; long conti-
nued rains shortened its duration, and
our warriors. ceased to frequent the
road which led to the camp of the
enemy. :

I have witnessed many such combats ;
but I shall not now relate them, under
the fear of fatiguing my readers by
too frequent repetition. I ought, how-
ever, to give them an idea of those
which take place between the Fallow
Ants and Sanguine Ants, since they dif-
fer much in character from those I have

WARS OF ANTS. 195

mentioned, approaching nearer the wars
in which we ourselves engage.

The Sanguine Ants, when they are
attacked by the Fallow Ants, go and
await the enemy in little troops, at some
distance from the nest: they advance in
a body, without separating, and seize all
those of their enemies who venture too
far from their camp. ‘These slight skir-
mishes are very amusing: the two par-
ties place themselves in ambuscade, and.
suddenly attack each other in turns ; but
when the Sanguine Ants perceive that
the Fallow Ants are advancing in force
against them, they inform those at the
ant-hill of the need in which they stand
of their assistance. Immediately, a con-
siderable army leaves the Sanguine city,
advances in a body, and surrounds the
enemy. Nothing more, I conceive, is
wanting to prove the existence of a
language between these insects. I have
witnessed instances of this kind every
day for several weeks. ‘These combats
were constantly renewed between the

K 2

196 WARS OF ANTS.

two ant-hills, which lay at some distance
from each other, but were situated in the
same hedge; so that the paths proceed-
ing from each led to the adverse territory.
Is not this sufficient to excite war he-
tween the greatest empires! *

* In perusing the travels of M. Malouet, in the
forests of Guyana, we shall be speedily convinced
that ants are not always, even to man, contemptible
enemies. We have reason to be thankful that
those of our own country are so innocent, and that
nature has reduced them to such different dimen-
sions. ‘I crossed the river,” he says, * with M. de
Prefontaine, for the purpose of visiting the woods.
In the midst of a savannah, extending beyond the
visible horizon, I observed a hillock, which had the
appearance of being the work of man. Hetold me
that it was an ant-hill. ‘ What?! said I, ‘ is that
immense structure the work of an insignificant in-
sect?’ He proposed to take me, not to the ant-
hill, where we should have been devoured, but to-
wards the route of the labourers. In drawing near
the wood, we saw several columns of these insects ;
some were going to, others returning from, the
forest, carrying pieces of leaves, different seeds, and
roots. These Black Ants were of the largest spe-
cies; but I had no desire to take a close survey of
them. Their habitation, to which I approached
within forty paces, appeared to be from fifteen to
twenty feet high, and from thirty to forty broad ;
its form was that of a pyramid, truncated at about

WARS OF ANTS. 197

I shall now ofter a few observations, to
which I shall give no definite term, since
they relate to scenes that I dare not qua-
lify with the title gymnastic, although
they bear a close resemblance to scenes
of that kind. It is to the Fallow
Ants I am indebted for these details ;
they have already furnished me with
several remarkable particulars. Do
they not owe to the immense population
of their nest those differences which

one-third of its height. From M. de Prefontaine,
I learned, that when a native had the misfortune to
meet one of these dreaded fortresses in turning up
the earth, he was obliged to abandon his establish-
ment, provided he could not lay a regular siege to
it. This circumstance occurred to him, on his
first encampment at Kouron; he then encamped at
a little distance, but shortly perceived a hillock
like that before us. He duga circular trench, and
filled it with a large quantity of dry wood, and
when he had fired it in several places, he attacked
the ant-hill with cannon. The shaking of the earth,
and the bursting forth of the flames, left the enemy
no means of escape, for they were obliged to tra-
verse, in their retreat, the trench filled with matter
in a state of combustion,” &c. &c. — A.

Ro

198 WARS OF ANTS.

their industry and character present; it
is at least highly probable, but I will not
positively affirm it. I visited, one day,
one of their ant-hills, exposed to the sun
and sheltered from the north; the ants
were heaped one upon another in great
numbers, and appeared to enjoy the tem-
perature on the surface of the nest. None
of them were at work. This immense
multitude of insects presented the appear-
ance of a liquid in the state of ebullition,
upon which the eye had some difficulty
in resting; but when I examined the
conduct of each ant, I saw them approach
each other, moving their antenne with
astonishing rapidity. With slight move-
ments of their fore-feet they patted the
lateral parts of the head of the other ants.
After these first gestures, which resembled
caresses, they were observed to raise
themselves upon their hind-legs by pairs,
struggle together, seize each other by a
mandible, foot, or antenna, and then
immediately relax their hold to re-com-
mence the attack. ‘They fastened on

WARS OF ANTS. 199

the thorax or abdomen, embraced and
overthrew each other, then raised them-
selves by turns, taking their revenge
without producing any mischief. They
did not spurt forth their venom, as in
their combats, nor retain their adversary
with that obstinacy which we observe
in their serious quarrels. They presently
abandoned the ants they had seized, and
endeavoured to lay hold of others. I
saw some who were so eager in these
exercises, that they pursued successively
several workers, and struggled with them
a few moments, the combat only termi-
nating, when the least animated, having
overthrown his antagonist, succeeded in
escaping and hiding in one of the
galleries.

I frequently visited this ant-hill, which
almost always presented me the same
spectacle: sometimes this disposition was
general; groups of ants were seen here
and there struggling together; but I
never saw any quit the ant-hill wounded
or maimed.

K 4

200 WARS OF ANTS.

The inhabitants of other ant-hills but
rarely engage in this: amusement, half-
warlike, half-social. If the manners,
however, of ants of the same species are
essentially alike, their habitudes offer
very distinct shades of difference in the
several colonies. ‘These republics, from
having no communication with each
other, contract particular habits in the
different circumstances under which they
may be placed: abundance or scarcity,
the proximity or distance from whence
the ants draw their materials, the labours
to which they are called, the neighbour-
hood of an antagonist ant-hill, or other
accidental circumstances, considerably
influence their actions. The colony of
which we are speaking was one of those
remarkable for its harmony ; the insects
of which it was composed did not cease
offering their companions nourishment,
caressing them with their antenne, and
carrying them from place to place. I
am induced to believe this friendly dis-
position originated from the situation of

WARS OF ANTS. 201

the ant-hill, which was contiguous to
the source whence they obtained their
food, inclosed between a ditch full of
water and a very thick hedge, which
preserved them from the visits of strange
ants and other enemies. What contri-
butes to strengthen me in this opinion is,
that I have observed the same exercises
in my glazed ant-hill, when the ants
were abundantly supplied with nourish-
ment, when they were perfectly recon-
ciled to their abode, and under the influ-
ence of a mild temperature. |

Other ant-hills presented me some par-
ticulars a little different from the above.
I often saw on the surface of the nest
workers that appeared affected with ver-
tigo; they made several evolutions in the
sun with convulsive movements, opening
their pincers and running in every direc-
tion overtheant-hills. Shortly after, some,
affected in the like, manner, began to
frisk about, and then entered the first
gallery they found on their passage.
These ants deranged every thing about

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202 WARS OF ANTS.

them; but this disposition continued only
two or three minutes, and was, I think,
occasioned by the heat of the sun, never
having observed it to take place but
when the sun was high in the horizon.
Several of those I noticed, after having
whirled round some moments, fastened
on the other ants by a leg or antenna,
then relaxed their hold to run after
others; sometimes carrying them off,
but doing them no injury. In one place
two ants appeared to be gambolling about
a stalk of grass; they turned alternately
to avoid or seize each other, which
brought to my recollection the sport and
the feigned combats of young dogs, when
they rise on their hind-legs, attempting to
bite, overthrow, and seize each other,
without once closing their teeth.

To witness these facts, it is necessary
to approach the ant-hills with much
caution, that the ants should have no
idea of our presence; if they had, they
would cease at the moment their plays
and their occupations, would put them- _

WARS OF ANTS. 205

selves in a posture of defence, curve
their abdomen and ejaculate their venom.
So much is their attention occupied, when
making preparations for war, that they
lose sight of all other objects. |

The ants then are acquainted with
labours, combats, I was about to say,
pleasures* ; they possess signs which are

* They have also their diseases. I have noticed
one extremely singular. The individuals who are
attacked, lose the power of advancing in a straight
line; they cannot proceed but by turning in a very
confined circle, and always in the same direction.
A virgin female that was enclosed in one of my
sand boxes was suddenly seized in this way: she
described a circle of an inch in diameter, making
about a thousand turns each hour. She turned
constantly during seven days, and when I visited
her in the night, I saw her engaged in the same
practice. I gave her some honey, of which I have
every reason to believe she partook. I once disco-
vered three labourers performing these evolutions,
one of them still possessed the faculty of occasion-
ally moving in a straight line. I took it up and
placed it on my hand; it continued its gyrations,
stopped a moment to taste some honey, and recom-
menced its circular journey. The second labourer,
which was of the Ash-coloured species, had one of
its antennz cut; it however escaped, before I had
made upon it the experiments I proposed. The

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204 WARS OF ANTS.

of use to them as a language, give proofs
of their affection for each other, and of
devotedness for their colony, and take
care of the females and their little ones.
These are well-known traits of civiliza-
tion ; and if ants were only of the size of
beavers, we should think we could not
sufficiently admire them. |

third labourer, belonging to the Fallow Ants, had
suffered no external injury. I am unacquainted
with the cause of this malady ; the only one I have
observed ants to be affected with. — A.

205

CHAP. VI.

OF THE RELATION OF ANTS WITH THE
PUCERONS AND GALL INSECTS.

1, Of the Antennal Language.

Ler us return to the important ques-
tion, relative to the language of ants.
If they have a language, I cannot give
too many proofs of it; if I labour under
an error, the following facts, in what-
ever manner they may be explained, will
plead my excuse.

Imagining that I have not presumed
too much upon the justness of my
conclusions, I have been under the ne-
cessity of admitting, that ants possess the
means of communicating their different
impressions, and I think this faculty con-

306 - RELATION OF ANTS

sists, in the striking with their head the
corslet of their companions, and in the
contact of their mandibles; but these
are the common signs of which they
make use. ‘The antenne, the organs of
touch, and, perhaps, of some other sense
which is unknown to us, are the princi-
pal instruments connected with the lan-
guage of ants: their situation in the
fore-part of the head, their flexibility,
their construction, which presents a
series of articulations, endewed with ex-
treme sensibility ; their close connection
with instinct, added to the observations I
made, whilst speaking of the conduct of
these insects, in reference to the females,
males, and labourers, induce me to be-
lieve that the antennee perform the most
important office among ants. We have
seen insects frequently use them on the
field of battle, to intimate approaching
danger, and to ascertain their own party
when mingled with the enemy ; they are
also employed, in the interior of the ant-
hill, to warn their companions of the

WITH THE PUCERONS. 207

presence of the sun, so favourable to the
development of the larve ; in their ex-
cursions and emigrating, to indicate their
route ; in their recruitings, to determine
the time of departure, &c. Let us still
see of what further service they are to
these insects. As ants do not possess
the art of constructing magazines, and
filling them with provisions, they cannot,
like bees, draw their supply from the
cells; they are, therefore, obliged to
quit their habitation: those, who remain
at home, expect their food from the la-
bourers, who are gone abroad to procure
it; the latter bring back small insects, or
the bodies of such as they have dismem-
bered. When they fall in with ripe
fruit, or animals of tender flesh, as worms,
lizards, &c. and are not able to convey
them to the ant-hill, they feed upon their
juices, and on their return to their habi-
tation, their stomachs being filled with
the liquid provision, they disgorge it in
the mouths of their companions, which is
effected in this manner : — the ant, who

208 RELATION OF ANTS

experiences hunger, begins striking with
both its antennae, with an extremely
rapid movement, the antennee of the ant
from whom it waits its.supply ; it then
draws closer, with its mouth open, and
its tongue extended, to receive the fluid,
which is observed to pass from the mouth
of one to that of the other: during this
operation, the ant who is receiving ali-
ment, does not cease caressing its kind
friend, by continuing to move its antenne
with great quickness ; it also plays upon
the lateral parts of the head of its bene-
factor, with its fore-feet, which are fur-
nished with very thick brushes, and
which, from the delicacy and rapidity of
their movement, yield in no respect to
the antenne. ‘The ant, who returns
from foraging in the fields, is well ac-
quainted with the mode of informing its
companions of the necessity under which
it lies, of discharging a part of the fluid
with which it is provided, and by the
aid of its antenne, appears to invite them
to come and take their portion; but it

WITH THE PUCERONS. 209

does not, in this case, make use of the
fore-feet. This language is well under-
stood by these insects; even the larve,
who know how to demand their nourish-
ment, (by raising their head, as we have
before remarked, ) erect themselves, and
present their mouths, as soon as they per-
ceive the ant striking with its antenne
the upper part of their body.

The antennal language would require,
without doubt, deep study, should we
be desirous to ascertain every impression
which it is susceptible of communicat-
ing. It is, like all the other signs I have
observed amongst ants, founded not
upon visible gestures, but upon the con-
tact or approximation of certain parts ;
since it was necessary it should prove of
utility in the interior of the ant-hill,
where the light of day never penetrates :
hence it happens, that an ant can only
be understood by one of its companions
at the same time, but the information
which it conveys, passes from one to the

210 RELATION. OF ANTS

other with extreme rapidity. If it so
happen, that we can prove they know
how to impart information to insects, not
of their own species, we must conclude

they have been singularly favoured by
nature.

2. The Intimacy of Ants with the Pucerons.

WE know that a great number of vege-
tables furnish provision to the Pucerons
or Aphides. ‘These insects fix themselves
upon the leaves, or small branches, and
insinuate their trunk or sucker between
the fibres of the bark, where they find
the most substantial nourishment. <A
portion of this aliment, shortly after
being taken, is expelled, under the
form of small limpid drops, either by
the natural passage, or by two horns,
that we commonly observe on the pos-
terior part of the body. This fluid con-
stitutes the principal support of the ants.
We have already noticed, that they wait
the moment when the pucerons eject

WITH THE PUCERONS. Qi1

this precious manna*, upon which
they (the ants) immediately seize _;
but this is the least of their talents, for
they know how to obtain it at any time
they wish.

I observed a branch of a thistle, cover-
ed with Brown Ants and pucerons, and
noticed that the latter regulated the time
when they discharged this secretion ; but
I remarked, that it very rarely passed at
the natural period, and that the pucerons,
stationed at some distance from the ants,
scattered it afar off, by a movement some-
what resembling the kicking or wincing
ofa horse. How happened it, then, that
the ants, wandering upon the branches, |
displayed bellies remarkable for their
size, and evidently filled with some kind
of liquid. ‘This is what I learned, by
watching closely a single ant, whose

* This substance may be frequently seen on the
leaves of the oak, lime, and other trees. It has a
glossy appearance, and is remarkably sweet to the
taste. The Abbé Boisier de Sauvages states, that
bees will occasionally wage war with ants, to ob-
tain possession of this honied secretion. — T.

212 RELATION OF ANTS

movements I am about to describe. [
saw it, at first, pass, without stopping,
some pucerons, which it did not how-
ever disturb. It shortly after stationed
itself near one of the smallest, and ap-
peared to caress it, by touching the ex-
tremity of its body, alternately with its
antenne, with an extremely rapid move-
ment. I saw, with much surprise, the fluid
proceed from the body of the puceron,
and the ant take it in its mouth. Its
antenne were afterwards directed toa
much larger puceron than the first, which,
on being caressed after the same manner,
discharged the nourishing fluid in greater
quantity, which the ant immediately
swallowed: it then passed to a third
which it caressed, like the preceding, by
giving it several gentle blows, with the
antenns, on the posterior extremity of
the body; the liquid was ejected at the
same moment, and the ant lapped it up.
It then proceeded to a fourth ; this, pro-
bably already exhausted, resisted its
action. The ant, who in all probability

WITH THE PUCERONS. 218

knew it had nothing to hope for by re-
maining there, quitted it fora fifth, from
whom it obtained its expected supply.
It now returned, perfectly contented, to
its nest.* A small number of such re-

* The more we contemplate the works of nature,
and observe the means she employs in her ordinary
operations, the more will our admiration be excited.
Who, for one moment, could suppose, that, as in
the instance before us, what is used as food by one
animal, should, on its passage through the body,
become the food of another, and thus discharge a
double office! Who could suppose that excremen-
titious matter, of whatever kind, after supporting
myriads of living beings, should, on undergoing
decomposition, and being separated into its primary
elements, enter into those several combinatious,
that diffuse a charming variety around us! How
wise is this provision! how admirable this contri-
vance! Were it otherwise, we should be perpetually
breathing an atmosphere, charged with noisome
effluvia, and living in the very charnel-house of
destruction. In the hands of nature nothing is
lost ; all is life and activity: even the death of one
being, is but a commencement of the existence of
another. Vapours raised from the sea, and floating
in the upper regions of the air, collect into clouds ;
these, on a reduction of temperature, yield their
contents to the thirsty earth: the waters, after ful-
filling their appointed office, pass from the moun-
tains by a thousand rills, into the plains; here, by

914, RELATION OF ANTS

pasts will satisfy an ant. I still observed
those which remained upon the thistle ;
they presented me the same scene.
From that period, I always found, that
the arrival of the ants, and the striking
with their antenna, preceded the gift
of this liquid, and that the attitude of
the pucerons (their head being lowered, )
appeared destined to favour this object.
I have a thousand times witnessed these
proceedings, which ants always employ
with success. If, however, they neglect
for along time visiting them, they (the
pucerons) deposit the honey upon the
leaves, where the ants find it on their
return. |

When the ants come frequently to.
these insects, the latter appear to accom-
modate themselves to their wish, by

ee en re ae ene enn ea-TIENEEENINaREISRIAT RR SRREN NERA. aCmaa a mnaean

their junction, they form rivers, which, taking a
circuitous course, empty themselves into the ocean.
Thus we see nature engaged in running a perpetual
round, and the waters, after cooling the atmo-
sphere and refreshing the earth, return to that
source whence they originally sprung. — T.

1

“

WITH THE PUCERONS. 215

shortening the period of their evacua-
tions, which may be ascertained by the
size of the drops they produce; and, in
that case, they never eject it to a dis-
tance. We might even say, they are very
careful in retaining it, for the purpose of
placing it within their immediate reach.
It sometimes happens, that the ants are

- too abundant upon the same plant, and,

therefore, exhaust the pucerons that
coverit. Under this circumstance, they
vainly attempt to play with their an-
tenn upon the body of these insects ;
they are obliged to wait until the puce-
rons have replenished themselves by a
further ration drawn from the branches.
The pucerons are not avaricious, and
never resist the solicitation of the ants,
when in a state to satisfy them. I have
often seen the same individual grant,
successively, several drops of this fluid
to different ants, who appeared extremely
anxious to obtain it. The Brown Ant
is not the only ant endowed with this art,
although it is certainly one of the most

216 RELATION OF ANTS

skilfulin procuring, in this way, itssubsist-
ence. The Fallow, the Ash-coloured, the
Red, and several other ants, possess,
in different degrees, the power of induc-
ing these insects to deliver over to them
this secretion. The Red Ant displays a
singular address in receiving this little
drop. It employs its antenne, the ex-
tremity of which is a little enlarged, to
convey it to.its mouth, as if they were
real fingers.

It does not appear that it is by impor-
tunity ants obtain from the pucerons
their nourishment. I observed some Fuli-
ginous Ants upon the branches of an oak,
which were loaded with large black puce-
rons. The latter were walking back-
ward and forward, and appeared to live
in the best intelligence with the ants:
they provided them with honey, but did
not attempt to escape, although they
were much more nimble than those of
which I] have already spoken. I saw one,
in this assembly, that possessed wings :
its wings, which were black, ornamented

WITH THE PUCERONS. 217

with two white rays, together with its
size, made it very conspicuous amongst
its companions. I saw several ants very:
busy and restless around it, because it
approached the other pucerons, from
whom they were about to demand their
repast. They proceeded toward it, in
great haste, gave ita few blows with their.
antenne, and stationed themselves near
the former. I was, at first, of opinion,
that the winged pucerons embarrassed
them ; but, in a favourable moment, [
observed it to be struck or caressed by
the ants, when it yielded to them the food
they solicited. I have often noticed,
since that period, other winged pucerons
delivering to the ants, without restraint,
this valuable liquid; they allowed them-
selves to be touched by the antenne of
those insects, remained upon the branch
where their companions who were des-
titute of wings were stationed, and did
not appear to avoid the ants, whose num-
ber one would suppose would inconveni-
ence them. ‘This proves that the neigh-
L

218 RELATION OF ANTS

bourhood of the ants is agreeable to
the pucerons, since. those who might
easily withdraw from their visits, prefer
resting among them, bestowing upon
them what is superfluous of their nourish-
ment.

I havenoticed the same occurrence with
respect to the greater part of the ants
‘of this country. The largest. pay their
visits also to the pucerons: One would
be astonished to see how they treat them,
and with what delicacy they invite them
with their antennze (which are different
from those of the Red Ants, and more
slender at the extremity than elsewhere)
to deliver over the honey.* I amnot
acquainted with any ants, to whom the
art of obtaining from the pucerons their
subsistence, is unknown: we might even
venture to affirm that these insects have
been created for their use.

* We know that those ants which have two
knots on the abdominal fillet, have their antennz
enlarged ; in those of the other classes, they are
filiform and setaceous. —» A.

WITH THE PUCERONS. 219

3. Of the Relation of Ants with the Gali
Insects.

We know that the gall insects as well
as the pucerons, station themselves on the
leaves and branches of trees, to: suck their
juices. The mouth and the sexual parts
are applied against the tree; the orifice,
destined to reject the excess of their
nourishment, is placed on the back. The
ants are attracted by the gall insects as
well.as the pucerons: Iam not the first to
have observed it. It has been long known
that the kermes, and the cochineal: in-
sects, which are generally allied to our
gall insects, are always accompanied by
ants, but we were unacquainted with the
reason for this intimacy. It had never
been remarked, that the gall insects de-
livered over to them, like the pucerons,
a considerable portion of the fluids they
extract.

M. de Reaumur himself believed,
that the puncture made upon the tree by
the gall insects, continued to pour forth
a fluid after they had withdrawn their

L 2

890 RELATION OF ANTS

sucker, and that the ants came up im-
mediately, to lap the juice which trans-
uded; but this conjecture, however pro-
bable it then appeared, has not been
verified. ‘These insects, which had for
so many years escaped our notice, were
at all times. known by the ants to be.
beings endowed with life and sensation. I
was very much astonished when I saw,,
for the first time, an ant approach a gall.
insect, and perform with its antenne, on
its lower extremity, the same manceu-
vres, which it executed in respect to the
pucerons. After having a few moments
caressed this insect, I saw proceed from
its back, a large drop of fluid, which the
ant immediately lapped up. I observed
the same occurrence, with reference to
other gall insects on the same tree,
during several seasons. ‘They were sta-
tioned in great number upon an enlarged
part of the trunk. ‘The ants came there
constantly to receive their provisions,
which was fully confirmed by my obsery- »
ing these insects upon an orange tree,

WITH THE PUCERONS. 221

-where I saw the ants obtain from them
their food in the same mannere We can
only compare the movements of ants
upon this occasion, to the play of the
fingers in a shake upon the piano-forte.
The kermes, like the pucerons, eject this
fluid to a distance when the ants are not
present to receive it; this, however, but
rarely happens. ‘The gall insects of the
vine, the peach, and the mulberry-tree,
never failed presenting me with the same
spectacle; which gave me some general
ideas respecting the relation which exists
between the instinct of these insects and
that of ants. That the pucerons and the
gall insects experience pleasure, when
caressed in this way by the ants; that it
is an advantage to them to be earlier rid
of their secretions; or that there really
exists between each, some kind of lJan-
guage, is still one of those questions
upon which we cannot well decide: but
we shall not the less admire the manner
-in which ants procure their subsistence.
This fluid is to them an inexhaustible
L3

Q22 RELATION OF ANTS

treasure. It will be enough, to be eor-
vinced ofthis truth, to station one’s-self
near an oak covered with these insects,
where we shall, soon after, observe thou-
sands. of ants ascending and descending
thetrunk. All those ascending have small
bellies, and walk nimbly; those, on the
contrary, descending, have their abdomen
swoln, transparent, full of the fluid
obtained from these insects, and do not
move but with difficulty.

4. The almost Human Industry-of Ants.

THERE are ants that scarcely ever quit —
their abode; we neither observe them
moving towards trees or their fruit ; they
do not even go in chace of other insects ;
they are, notwithstanding, extremely
common in our meadows and orchards. I
allude to the Yellow Ants, called by the
common people Red Ants, and which
would merit the surname of soulerraines.
They are two lines in length, their body
is of a pale yellow colour, slightly trans~
parent, and covered with hair.

WITH THE PUCERONS. 225

I knew where all the other ants sought
and obtained their nourishment; but I
could not ascertain what these did to
exist, and what aliment they could fur-
nish themselves with, without quitting
their habitation; when, one day, having
turned up the earth of which their nest
was composed, to discover if they had
any provision, I found it to contain the
pucerons. I saw them at the roots of the
grass which surrounded the ant-hill. ‘They
were assembled in considerable numbers,
and were of different species: the most
common, were of a flesh colour and of a
round form; others were white, and had
the body more flattened; but they were
of the same genus. There were also some
that were green and violet coloured,
others with black and green rays; the
latter stood higher upon their legs, and
were much longer. Some were removed
to a great depth, attached to the deeper
part of the roots; others were wandering
about in the midst of the ants, either in
the upper or under-ground chambers.

L 4

QI, RELATION OF ANTS

The ants appeared to seize the favourable
moment. for taking their food; they
acted in the ordinary manner, and always
with the same success... This clearly
explained, why the ants of this species
did not quit their abode, since they had,
without leaving it, all that was necessary
for their support.

I was anxious to verify this discovery,
by looking into several nests of the
Yellow Ants, where I always found the
pucerons. They may be readily seen
after warm rains ; for they at that time
keep near the surface of the ground:
the plants upon which they are stationed
may be then readily plucked up by the
roots, without crushing these insects,
which happens when the earth is too
dry. I soon found that the Yellow Ants
were extremely jealous of these insects ;
they took them often in their mouths,
and carried them to the bottom of the
nest; at other times, they brought
them up among them, or followed them
with much solicitude, I profited by the

WITH THE PUCERONS. 995

information I had acquired of their way
of life, so as to nourish, at my own resi-
dence, one of their colonies. I placed
the ants in a glazed box, with their
pucerons, leaving in the earth I gave
them the roots of some plants, whose
branches vegetated without. I watered
from time to time the ant-hill, and in
this manner, the plants, the pucerons, and
the ants themselves, found in this appa-
ratus abundant nourishment. ‘The ants
made no attempt to escape; they ap-
peared to have nothing to desire; they
took care of their larve and females,
with the same affection as in their own
nest; they also paid great attention to
the pucerons, and never injured them.
The latter did not seem to labour under
the slightest fear; they allowed them,
selves to be carried from place to place,
and rested in the spot chosen by their
guardians. When the ants wished to
displace them, they began caressing them
with their antenne, hoping thereby, to
imduce them to abandon the roots, or to
LS

226 RELATION OF ANTS

withdraw their trunk from the cavity in
which it was inserted; they afterwards
took them up gently in their mandibles,
and carried them with the-same care as
the larve of their own species. I wit-
nessed the same ant remove, successively,.
three of these insects, much larger than
itself, and convey them to a darkened
chamber.* ‘There was one which made

* T have often been surprised at the strength, as:
well as address, occasionally displayed by ants. At
the entrance of a nest of Red Ants, I placed a large
house-fly ; several ants came out from time to time,
to examine it. But what was my surprise, to see a
solitary ant attempt the removal of so large a body:
it caught hold of one of the wings forcibly by its
pincers, and exerted all its strength to drag it along.
This it did with apparent ease, where the ground
was not uneven; but on meeting any obstruction,
and finding the dragging system useless, it quitted
its post for the opposite station, and overcame the
resistance by pushing. In this way it removed the
fly to aconsiderable distance. A difficulty at length
presented itself, which I thought insuperable. The
ant, however, did not relax in its exertions: after
attempting to drag it for some time, it endeavoured
to push it forward, going alternately to the several
parts of the body. All these efforts were useless.
In this emergency it seized the fly in its mouth, and

WITH THE PUCERONS. 227

a long resistance, probably by not being
enabled, at the moment, to withdraw its
trunk, which might have been buried
deeply in the wood. Iwas much amused
in observing the various attempts made
by this ant, to induce it to quit its hold ;
it caressed and seized it alternately, until
it at length yielded to its wishes. The
ants do not employ this gentle method,
when they labour under an apprehension
that these insects may be taken away
from them by the ants of another species,
living near their habitation, or when we
happen to tread too heavily on the grass
under which they are concealed, for they
then seize upon them directly, and carry

by a sudden jerk lifted it from the ground, and thus
overcame the impediment. — ‘‘ The Mahometans
hold, on the relation of Thevenot (as mentioned by
Messrs. Kirby and Spence), that one of the animals
in Paradise is Solomon’s Ant, which, when all
creatures, in obedience to him, brought him pre-
sents, dragged before him a locust, and was there-
fore preferred before all others, because it had
brought a creature so much bigger than itself.” — T.

L 6

Q28 RELATION OF ANTS

them off to the under-ground chambers.
I have seen the ants of two neighbouring
nests disputing about their pucerons;
when the ants of one nest were enabled
to enter the habitation of their neigh-
bours, they purloined these insects, which
were, after a time, often recovered by
their original possessors. The ants know
full well the value of these little animals,
which, it would appear, had been created
for them;—they constitute their sole
wealth, an ant-hill being more or less
rich, as it is more or less provided with
pucerons; they are in fact their cattle,
their cows, their goats, &c. Who could
have imagined that the ants were a pas-
toral tribe! But a question here presents
itself of some interest: — Dothe pucerons,
which I have constantly found in nests
of this species, come of their own free
will to reside there, or are they brought
thither by the ants? the latter appears to
me most probable, for the ants are in the
habit of carrying them continually from
place to place, and are the individuals

WITH THE PUCERONS. 229

who receive all the advantages attending
this relation.

I am strongly inclined to believe, that
the Yellow Ants, and all those who are
endowed with the same industry, go in
search of these insects through the sub-
terranean galleries they have formed
between the roots; that they find them
scattered among the grass, and bring
them to the nest. I cannot conceive, if
this be not the case, why there should be
so many of these insects in ant-hills, for
they are not equally common elsewhere.
I have seldom discovered them under
the grass, but they were surrounded by
Yellow Ants, who arrive at their haunts
by subterranean passages, and who, pro-
bably, convey them to their nest in the
autumn. ‘They often seized upon them
in my presence, and withdrew with them
by some obscure path, which proves
that these insects are at their complete
disposal.

It is more particularly during the bad
weather, that they assemble them at the

280 RELATION OF ANTS

bottom of the nest. In the summer, we
more frequently find them at the foot of
the plant, contiguous to the ant-hill,
where the plants suffer less from drought
than when growing upon the very nest ;
but this is nearly the same as if they were
enclosed with the ants, since their habi-
tation extends more within the earth than
without.

Four or five species of ants keep puce-
rons in their abode; but less constantly,
and in much smaller number, than the
Yellow Ants, as they obtain a portion of
their subsistence from those inhabiting
trees. ‘There are some, who reach the
branches, loaded with these insects, under
a covered way of earth, leading directly
from their nest. Here the ants are as
well furnished with food as if they kept
the pucerons in their own dwelling ; and
as often as they wish to bring these insects
to their nest, they can accomplish it with-
out the knowledge of other ants, and
without incurring any risk. The Red,
the Brown, the Turf Ant, and another

WITH THE PUCERONS. 951

species, excessively small, are always,
during Autumn, Winter, and Spring, in
the possession of pucerons. ‘The latter,
which we might name the microscopic
ant, for it is only half a line in length,
equally finds pucerons proportioned to
its size: they are of a white colour,
and a little larger than the ant itself.
The pucerons then are the domestic
animals of the ants: the latter collect
these insects around them, as we collect
those animals which administer to our
wants, near the habitation in which we
reside. ‘The animals which are subject
to our controul, know the voice of man ;
the pucerons and the gall insects under-
stand, as it should seem, the language of
ants, and furnish them with their aliment,
unconstrained. There are several other
insects which live among ants, although
they do not appear to be of any service
to them; these are, woodlice, earwigs,
and certain larvae of the scarabei. ‘The
ants, from being accustomed to their
sight, permit their residence among them;

932 RELATION OF ANTS

they never do them any injury, which is
the more singular, as ants pass in general
for beings of an irritable disposition.
But what is invariable, what I have
always witnessed respecting the Yellow
Ants, and what it is of some importance to
know, is, that they have pucerons in their
nests, and that they never destroy them:
they, on the contrary, bring them to-
gether, to enjoy more conveniently, the
fluid which these insects furnish them.
If these ants display, in this respect, an
industry worthy of man, there are others,
whose proceedings are not less remark-
able, and who appear to take possession
of the pucerons, which feed on the
branches of trees, and the stalks of her-
baceous plants. The ants, extremely
jealous in preserving these insects, and
especially those who reside near them,
will not suffer any strangers to come and
dispute with them the nourishment they
offer. They drive them off with their
mandibles, become uneasy and restless,
and pass over the branch with every
19

WITH THE FUCERONS. 233

mark of anger. They sumetimes take
these insects in their mouths, to guard
them from the attacks of other ants:
more frequently, they station a guard
around them; and when they are enabled
to do so, they put them out of the reach
of their rivals, by a very ingenious
method, of which I have seen many
examples.

I observed one day on the stem of a
thistle, a little sphere or lodgment, which
the ants had fabricated with earth; they
quitted it by an extremely narrow aper-
ture formed in the bottom, descended
along the stalk, and passed into a neigh-
bouring ant-hill. I destroyed one part
of this tent, constructed almost in air,
to see the interior, which consisted
of a little hall, whose sides of a vaulted
form, were smooth and compact. The
ants had availed themselves of the form
of the plant, to sustain this edifice; the
stem passed through the centre of the
apartment, and its leaves composed the
whole of the carpentry. This retreat

234 RELATION OF ANTS’

contained an extensive family of pu-
cerons, from whom the. Brown Ants
peaceably received their food, sheltered
from the rain and sun, and-safe from the
invasion of foreign ants; no insect
could disturb them, and the pucerons
were not exposed to the attacks of their
various enemies. I admired this trait of
their industry ; but I soon observed it
on a more extensive scale, and with
greater interest, among ants of a different
species.

Some Red Ants had constructed around
the foot of a thistle a cylinder of earth,
two inches and a half in length, by one
and a half in breadth. The ant-hill lay
below, and communicated directly with
this tunnel. I took the branch, with
its contents, and found that portion of
the stem comprised in the tunnel, fur-
nished with pucerons. I presently saw
go out, by the opening which I had
made at its base, a few ants, who seemed.
much astonished at the light appearing in
that place. I perceived they were living

WITH THE PUCERONS. 235

there with their larva; they transported
them in a hurry, to the upper part of the
cylinder, which had not been injured.
It was here they kept at their disposal,
their joint stock of pucerons, and here
they nourished their little ones.

In another spot, several stems of a
thistle, loaded with pucerons, rose from
the very centre of an ant-hill, inhabited
by Brown Ants, who, availing themselves
of the particular disposition of the leaves
of this plant, had constructed around the
branches, several little oblong houses,
where they came to procure their food.
On my destroying one of these houses,
the ants carried off immediately into
their nest the little animals they so much
valued. A few days after, I saw it
repaired, and the cattle brought back to
their paddock. ‘These houses are not
always constructed close to the ground :
I saw one once five feet above the sur-
face, which merits being described ; it
consisted of a short blackish tunnel,
which surrounded a small branch of a

236 RELATION OF ANTS

poplar-tree, at that place where it quitted
the trunk. The ants arrived at this spot
‘by passing through the interior of the
‘tree, which was hollow, and thus screened
from observation, they reached their
pucerons by an opening at the beginning
of the branch. The tunnel was formed
of decayed wood, and of the earth about
the tree. I saw several ants engaged in
bringing pellets in their mouths, to
repair the breaches I had made. ‘These
proceedings are by no means of common
occurrence; we cannot attribute them to
an habitual routine.

There are some ants who receive their
nourishment from the pucerons inhabiting
the common plantain: they are gene-
-vally stationed under the flower; but
when this falls to the ground, and the
stem withers, which happens about the
-end of August, they retire for shelter
- under the radical leaves of the plant ; the
_ ants follow, and enclose them, by walling
up with moist. earth all the space be-
tween the ground and the margin of

WITH THE PUCERONS. 237

the leaves; they afterwards excavate
the ground, to have more room to ap-
proach these insects, and pass from
thence to their habitation, by covered
galleries.

5. Resources of the Ants during Winter.

I am naturally led to speak in this
place, of the manner in which ants sub-.
sist in winter, since we have relinquished
the opinion that they amass wheat and
other grain, and that they gnaw the corn
to hinder it from germinating. We have
endeavoured to explain their preserv-
ation, by supposing them to fall into a ~
state of torpor at this period. ‘They, in
fact, become torpid during the intense
cold, but when the season is not very
severe, the depth of their nest guards
them from the effects of the frost: they
do not become torpid, unless the tempe-
rature is reduced to the second degree
of Reaumur under the freezing point,
(27° Fahrenheit.) I have occasionally
seen them walking upon the snow, en-.

238 RELATION OF ANTS

gaged in their customary avocations. In
so reduced a temperature, they would
be exposed to the horrors of famine, were
they not supplied with: food by the
pucerons, who, by an admirable concur-
rence of circumstances, which we cannot
attribute to chance, become torpid at
precisely the same degree of cold as the
ants, and recover from this state also, at
the same time: the ants, therefore, always
find them when they need them.

Those ants that do not possess the
knowledge of the mode of assembling
these insects, are, at least, acquainted
with their retreat ; they follow them to
the feet of the trees, and the branches of
the shrubs they before frequented, pass
at the first degree of frost along the
hedges, following the paths which con-
duct to these insects, and bring back
to the republic a small quantity of honey;
a very little sufficing for their support
in winter.

As soon as the ants recover from their
torpid state, they venture forth to proz

WITH THE PUCERONS. 239

cure their food. ‘The aliment contained
in their stomach is, on their return,
equally distributed to their companions.
These juices: scarcely evaporate, during
this season, owing to the thickness of the
horny rings investing the body.. I have
known ants preserve, during’ a consider-
able time, their internal stock of pro-
visions, when they could not impart it
to their companions. When the cold in-
creases in a gradual manner, (and. this is
commonly what the ants experience who
are screened from it by a thick wall of
earth,) they collect and lie upon each
other by thousands, and appear all hook-
ed together. Is this done, in order to
provide themselves a little heat? I pre-
sume this to be the case, but our ther-
mometers are not sufficiently delicate to
indicate if this be really the fact.

6. Of the Eggs of the Pucerons.

THE pucerons, which are viviparous in
the summer, are oviparous during Au-
tumn. This very remarkable fact is here

24.0 RELATION OF ANTS

most fully confirmed.* One day, in
November, anxious to know if the Yel-

* Although these insects are both oviparous
and viviparous, yet this is not the greatest singu-
larity in their history, for they will produce, as
fully confirmed by Bonnet and other celebrated
naturalists, several young in succession, without in-
tercourse with the male insect. The common gnat,
it is asserted, will produce young, and these, in
their turn, will give birth to others, down to the
sixth generation, without further intercourse with
the male. Huber, the father of our present
author, so well known to us from his extensive dis-
coveries in natural history, thinks, that one im-
pregnation is sufficient to render fertile all the eggs
which a queen bee may produce in the whole
course of her life, usually about two years. And
Mons. Audibert has known a female spider produce
young, for several successive generations, from one
single impregnation of the male. The circumstance
of the Aphides, or Pucerons, being oviparous or
viviparous, seems to depend upon the prevailing
temperature. Mr. Curtis having remarked the
same species to be oviparous in the open air, which
when sheltered from the wind, in a green-house,
was viviparous. The wood-louse, it has been re-
marked, sometimes produces its young in the state
of an egg, sometimes brings them forth per-
fectly alive. Redi also mentions a similar cir-
cumstance, in his work on the generation of
insects, in reference to some of the flies he des.

WITH THE PUCERONS. Z4t

low Ants began to bury themselves in
their subterranean chambers, I destroyed,
with care, one of their habitations, story
by story. I had not advanced far in this
attempt, when I discovered an apartment
containing an assemblage of little eggs,
which were for the most part of the co-
lour of ebony. Several ants surrounded,
and appeared to take great care of them,
and endeavoured, as quickly. as possible,
te convey them from my sight. I seized
upon this chamber, its inhabitants, and
the treasure it contained.

The ants did not abandon these eggs to
make their escape; a stronger instinct
retained them: they hastened to conceal
them under the smal! dwelling, which I
held in my hand, and when I reached
home, I drew them from it, to ob-
serve them more attentively. View-.
ed with a microscope, they appeared
nearly of the form of ants’ eggs, but
their colour was entirely different; the
greater part were black ; others were of
a cloudy yellow. I found them in se-

M

JAP RELATION OF ANTS

veral ant-hills, and obtained them of dif-
ferent degrees in shade; they were not
all black and yellow ; some were brown,
of a slight, and also of a brilliant red and
white; others were of a colour less dis-
tinct, as a straw colour, greyish, &c.
I remarked they were not of the same
colour at both extremities.

To observe them more closely, I placed
them in the cover of a box faced with
glass; they were collected in a heap,
like the eggs of ants; their guardians
seemed to value them highly ; after hav-
ing visited them, they placed one part in
the earth, but I witnessed ‘the attention
they bestowed upon the rest: they ap-
proached them slightly separating their
pincers, passed their tongue between
each, extended them, then walked al-
ternately over them, depositing, I be-
lieve, a liquid substance as they pro-
ceeded. They appeared to treat them
exactly as if they were eggs of their
own species; they touched them with
their antenne, and frequently carried

WITH THE PUCERONS. 243

them in their mouths; they did not quit
these eggs a single instant; they took them
up, turned them, and after having sur-
veyed them with affectionate regard, con-
veyed them, with extreme tenderness, to
the little chamber of earth I had placed
at their disposal. They were not, however,
the eggs of ants; we know that these
are extremely white, becoming trans-
parent, as they increase in age, but never
acquire a colour essentially different. *
I was, for a long time, unacquainted
with the origin of those of which I have
just spoken, and by chance, discovered.
they contained little pucerons; but it
was not these individual eggs I saw
them quit, it was other eggs, which
were a little larger, found in the nests of

* Gould has taken notice of these black eggs,
which he considers to be the female eggs of ants :
here, however, he labours under a mistake, for they
are evidently the eggs of the Aphides, or Pucerons.
We learn from Mr, Kirby, that in a nest of yellow
ants, which fell under his observation, he saw near
the surface a parcel of the eggs of the Aphides, and
these he knew by their black colour. — T.

mM 2

B44, RELATION OF ANTS

Yellow Ants, and of a particular species.
On opening the ant-hill, I discovered se-
veral chambers, containing a great num-
ber of brown eggs, the ants were ex-
tremely jealous of them, carrying them
away, and quickly too, to the bottom of
the nest, disputing and contending for
them with a zeal which left me no doubt ~
of the strong attachment with which
they regard them. |
Desirous of conciliating their interests,
as well as my own, I took the ants and
their treasure, and placed them in such
a manner that I might easily observe
them. These eggs were never abandon-
ed. The ants took the same care of
them as the former. ‘The following day
I saw one of these eggs open, and a pu-
ceron fully formed, having a large trunk,
quit it. I knew it to be a puceron of the
oak: the others were disclosed a few
days after, and the greater number in my
presence. They set immediately about
sucking the juice from some branches of
the tree I gave them, and the ants now

WITH THE PUCERONS. 945

found, within their reach, a recompence
for their care and attention.

The ant-hill, whence these eggs had
been taken, was situated at the foot of
an oak, which readily accounts for their
existence in that place. I discovered
them in the spring; the pucerons which
quitted them were very large, for insects
just born, but they had not yet obtained
theirfull size. M. Bonnet, to whom we are
indebted for many important discoveries
upon the pucerons and their generation,
speaks of their eggs, which he has often
seen affixed to the branches of trees; he
believes that the insect, in a state
nearly perfect, quits the body of its mo-
ther in that covering which shelters it
from the cold in winter, and that it is
not, as other germs are, in the egg, sur-
rounded by food, by means of which it is
developed and supported. It is nothing
more than an asylum of which the pu-
cerons born at another season have no
need: it is on this account some are

mM 3

24.6 RELATION OF ANTS

produced naked, others enveloped in a
covering. ‘The mothers are not then
truly oviparous, since their young are
almost as perfect as they ever will be, in
the asylum in which Nature has placed
them at their birth. M. Bonnet vainly
attempted to preserve these kind of
eggs in his chamber until the spring;
he imagines, that to have attained this
end, they should have been kept in a
certain degree of humidity, which would
have happened to them in a state of
nature.

It appears, then, that ants know every
thing that is necessary to the preserv-
ation of these eggs; they pass their
tongue constantly over them, and invest
them with a glutinous matter, which re-
tains them together. They, in conse-
quence, are preserved until the period
when the pucerons quit them: they em-
ploy then the same means to preserve
their covey, if I may use this expression,
that M. Bonnet supposed would pre-
serve these eggs, and secure their dis-

WITH THE PUCERONS. 24,7

closure in the spring. We have rea-
son to believe that this celebrated man
would have admired with us this part
of their industry, if natural history had
not lost in him her most worthy con-
templator.

| 248

CHAPTER VII. .

FIRST HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE AMAZON
ANTS.

We have hitherto treated only of
labouring ants, of societies composed of
three sorts of individuals, of operations
equally divided among the labourers, and
of transient wars, without any fixed pur-
pose, or having only for their object
common defence. The Amazon Ants
present us manners and habits totally
different, — republics peculiarly consti-
tuted and organised, — character dissi-
milar, — wars regularly instituted, — in
a word, a separate history; and of which
no author has yet given any account.
On the 17th June, 1804, whilst walk-

HISTORY OF THE AMAZON ANTS, 249

ing in the environs of Geneva, between
four and five in the evening, I observed
close at my feet, traversing the road, a
legion of Rufescent Ants. *

They moved in a body with consider-
able rapidity, and occupied a space of
from eight to ten inches in length, by
three or four in breadth. In a few
minutes they quitted the road, passed a
thick hedge, and entered a _ pasture
ground, where I followed them. They
wound along the grass without straggling,
and their column remained unbroken,
notwithstanding the obstacles they had to
surmount; at length they approached a
nest, inhabited by dark Ash-coloured
Ants, the dome of which rose above the
grass, at a distance of twenty feet from
the hedge. Some of its inhabitants were
guarding the entrance; but, on the dis-
covery of an approaching army, darted
forth upon the advanced guard. The
alarm spread at the same moment in the

* For a description of this species see the Ap-
pendix.
M5

250 HISTORY OF

interior, and their companions came forth
in numbers from their underground resi-
dence. The Rufescent Ants, the bulk
of whose army lay only at the distance
of two paces, quickened their march to
arrive at the foot of the ant-hill; the
whole batallion, in an instant, fell upon
and overthrew the Ash-coloured Ants,
who, after a short, but obstinate conflict,
retired to the bottom of theirnest. The
Rufescent Ants now ascended the hillock,
collected in crowds on the summit, and
took possession of the principal avenues,
leaving some of their companions to work
an opening in the side of the ant-hill with
their teeth. Success crowned their en-
terprise, and by the newly made breach
the remainder of the army entered. Their
sojourn was, however, of short duration,
for in three or four minutes they returned
by the same apertures which gave them
entrance, each bearing off in its mouth
a larva or a pupa; they retraced the
route by which they had arrived, and
proceeded one after another, without

THE AMAZON ANTS. 851

order or regularity.* The whole army
might be readily distinguished in the
grass, by the contrast afforded by the
Rufescent Ants, and the white eggs and
pup they had captured. ‘They repassed
the hedge and the road, in the place they
had previously crossed it, and then
directed their course through a field
of ripened corn, where I experienced
the regret of not being able to follow
them.

I now retraced my steps towards the
scene of the recent assault, and there

* The tactics of these marauders vary with the
enemy they have to contend with; in this instance,
conscious of carrying off their booty, without further
opposition from the Ash-coloured Ants, the army
no longer keeps in rank, but separates into strag-
gling parties, each hastening by a different route, to
deposit their spoil in the common treasury ; but,
when these intrepid adventurers attack a nest of
mining ants, and return successful, they are
then obliged, from the known spirit and courage of
the latter, to kecp close order, and march in a body
to the very gates of their citadel; as it not unfre-
quently happens, they are followed and harassed
the whole way by the mining ants, who leave no
exertion untried to recover their treasure. — T.

m 6

252 HISTORY OF

found a small number of Ash-coloured
labourers, perched upon the stalks of
plants, holding in their mouths the few
larvae they had rescued from pillage;
these they shortly carried back to. their
former station.

This feature, so prominent in the history
of Rufescent Ants, of whose real name I
was then ignorant, induced me to give
them the appellation of Amazon or
Legionary Ants, as being most analogous
to their martial character; these deno-
minations I still retain; therefore, when I
speak of Rufescent, Amazon, or Legion-
ary Ants, it will be understood that I am
treating of the same species. *

I returned the following morning at
the same hour, by the route [ had

* To avoid the too frequent repetition of the
same word, I shall take the liberty, when speaking
of the dark Ash-coloured Ant, occasionally to use
the appellation of Negro, or Negro Ant; a term
not inapplicable, when we consider the dark colour
of this species, and the situation it holds in the
colony, of providing for and administering to, the
wants, &c.. of the Amazons. — T,

THE AMAZON ANTS. 253

observed the Amazon army take, in the
hope of acquiring some knowledge of the
phenomenon of which I had been a
witness, when I discovered the habitation
of one of these martial hordes.

I observed on the right of the road a
large ant-hill, covered with ants of that
species. They formed into column, set
forth in a body, and fell upon one of the
habitations of the Ash-coloured Ants, in
which, experiencing little or no opposi-
tion, they entered. One party immedi-
ately returned, bearing in their pincers
the purloined larve ; another party, less
fortunate, quitted the scene of attack,
without reaping any advantage from
their expedition : —the former took the
road to their own citadel; the latter
marched in a body upon a second ant-
hill, tenanted by the same species as the
first, where they made ample booty. The
whole army, now forming two divisions,
hastened to the spot from which it had
taken its departure. I reached the
garrison a little before them ; but what

954 HISTORY OF

was my surprise to observe all around, a
great number of that identical species
they had gone forth to attack. I raised
up a portion of the building, I still saw .
more; this induced me to regard it as
one of the habitations that had already
been pillaged by the Amazons, when my
suspicions were removed by the arrival
of the Amazon legion at the entrance,
charged with the trophies of victory. _ Its
return excited no alarm among the Negro
Ants, who, whilst the Legionaries were
descending with their booty, so far from
offering opposition, were even seen to
approach these warriors, caress them with
their antenna, offer them nourishment,
as is the custom with those of their own
species, take up some of the larva, and
carry them into the nest. The Amazons
remained within the rest of the day: the
Negro Ants kept their station some time
without, but retired before night.

No enigma ever raised my curiosity so
high as this singular discovery; and I had
the satisfaction of finding near my own

THE AMAZON ANTS. 255

residence several ant-hills of the same
kind, not a little astonished at being the
first to notice their existence.

Conscious of the great advantage of
having them so near me, I determined to
devote the whole of my time to them.
As I was extremely impatient to ascertain
the nature of the connexion between
these different species, I opened one of
their dwellings, and there observed a
great number of Rufescent mingled with
Ash-coloured Ants, which gave me some
general idea upon this head. ‘The latter
were busily engaged in re-establishing
the several avenues, hollowing out galle-
ries, and carrying below the exposed
larvee and pupe. ‘The Amazons, on the
contrary, passed over the larvae, &c. with
indifference, not once deigning to lift
them, or take any part in the labours
going forward; they wandered for some
time over the surface, and then retired
to the bottom of their citadel.

But at five in the evening, the scene
undergoes a complete and almost imme-

17*

Q56 HISTORY OF

diate change. The Amazons leave their
retreat, become restless, and assemble on
the outside. ‘They are all in motion;
none, however, move but in a curved
line, and in such a way, as quickly to
return to the outer wall of their garrison ;
their number increases each moment,
they describe greater circles, a signal
is communicated, they pass from one to
the other, striking as they proceed with
their antenne and forehead the breast of
their companions; these, in their turn,
approach those advancing, and commu-
nicate the same signal; it is that of
‘departure; the result satisfactorily proves
it. We see those receiving the intima-
tion, put themselves at the moment in
march, and join the rest of the troop.
The column becomes organised, advances
in a straight line, passes over the turf,
and removes to a considerable distance.
Not a single Amazon is any longer to be
seen near the garrison. ‘The advanced
guard sometimes halts until the rear-
guard comes up, and then diverge to the

THE AMAZON ANTS. 257

tight and left without advancing ; the
army forms anew, and again moves for-
ward with rapidity. There is no com-
mander-in-chief, every ant is in turn
first, each seeking to be foremost; some,
however, move in a different direction,
pass from the front to the rear, then
retrace their steps and follow the general
movement. There are always a small
number constantly returning to the rear,
and it is probably in this way the move-
ment of the whole army is governed.

At a little more than thirty feet from
their own residence, they stop and ex-
plore the ground with their antenne,
much in the same way as dogs when
searching for game. They soon find a
subterranean Negro ant-hill, to the bot-
tom of which its inhabitants have retired.
The Legionary Ants, unopposed, pene-
trate an open gallery; the whole army
enter, seize upon the pups, and return
through the several apertures, immedi-
ately taking the road to their garrison.
It is now no longer an army disposed in

258 HISTORY OF

column, it is an undisciplined horde.
The Amazons run: after each other with
rapidity, and the last comers from the
stormed city are followed by some few
of its inhabitants, who endeavour to
wrest from them their prize; an effort in
which it but rarely happens they are
successful.

I return to the garrison to be once
more a witness of the reception given to
these plunderers by the Ash-coloured
Ants, with whom they dwell. I observe a
considerable number of pupze heaped up
before the door; each Amazon on its
arrival deposits its burthen, and then
returns to the invaded ant-hill ; — their
auxiliaries suspend their labours in ma-
sonry, and come forward to the pupae,
which they carry one by one into the
interior. ‘The Negroes are also frequently
seen to unload the Amazons, after having
amicably touched them with their an-
tennee, when the latter yield to them,
without opposition, the pup they have
purloined.

THE AMAZON ANTS. 259

Let us still follow this army of plun-
derers on their return a second time, to
the attack of the nearly ruined ant-hil.
Its inhabitants, however, have had time
to recover themselves, and to station a
strong guard at each of the entrances.
The Legionaries, who are in small num-
bers at first, take flight as soon as they
perceive the Negroes in a state of defence;
they return to the main body of the
army, and advance and retreat several
times successively, until they are in suf-
ficient force ; they then throw themselves
en masse upon one of the galleries, driving
away and putting in confusion its inha-
bitants. The whole army now enter the
subterranean city, and seize upon the
larvee, which they carry off in great
numbers, and in great haste. ‘They
never take any of the parent ants prison-
ers, their sole object being the possession
of their offspring. Upon their return to
the garrison, the most friendly reception
is still given to the Amazons, who — their
associates having arranged the produce

260 HISTORY OF

of their first harvest, —either deposit
their load at the entrance, or consign it
to those in attendance, who hasten to
place it in the interior.

Could one for a moment suppose, that
these intrepid warriors would return a
third time to the pillage? This time, how-
ever, they had to undertake a siege in
regular form, for the individuals, from
whom they had twice successively taken
larvee and pupe, had lost no time in
throwing up trenches, barricading the
several entrances, and reinforcing the
guard of the interior, as if fully aware of
this third attack from their adversaries.
They had, moreover, brought together all
_ the little pieces of wood and earth within
reach, with which they had blocked up
the passage to their habitation, in which
they were posted in force. ‘The Legion-
aries at first hesitated to approach, but
rambled about or returned to the rear,
until sufficiently reinforced ; they then,
upon a given signal, rushed forward en
masse with great impetuosity, and began

THE AMAZON ANTS. 261.

removing with their teeth and feet, the
many obstacles that opposed their pro-
gress. Having succeeded, they entered
the ant-hill by hundreds, notwithstanding
the resistance of its inhabitants, and
carried off their prize to the garrison.
But this time, in lieu of remitting to
their associates their plunder, they car-
ried it into the under-ground chambers
themselves, where they remained the rest
of the day.

On the 23d June, at half-past three,
when the sun was extremely powerful, a
few of the Amazons quitted their abode,
and after taking a survey of the environs,
re-entered ; a moment after, others, but
in trifling number, came to take the air
at the entrance of one of the galleries,
where they seemed to await the favour-
able moment for commencing their expe-
dition. At a quarter before five they
sallied forth in crowds, and appeared
extremely restless; some advanced into
the meadow, whilst others remained on
the ant-hill; but a few, returning to the

262 HISTORY OF

rear, by the effect of that tactic we have
elsewhere noticed, arrived at the garrison
and gave the signal for departure, «by
approaching in turn, and striking with
their antenne all their compatriots, who
immediately put themselves in march to
join the army. ‘This warlike phalanx
took a direction different from that of the
preceding evening, but soon stopped in
their course, and separated in search of
some ant-hill, but experiencing no suc-
cess, they again formed and continued
their march, until they alighted upon one
hidden in the grass, at about fifty paces
from their own dwelling. ‘The Ash-
coloured Ants, frightened at the unex-
pectedarrivalandnumber of the Amazons,
took flight, leaving the latter to make
ample booty of larva and pupz, which
they carried off to their own abode.
Another army infinitely more numer-
ous than the first, now issued from the
garrison, and took a different direction in
their march, which was somewhat tedious;
they passed untouched several ant-hills

THE AMAZON ANTS.° 263

inhabited by a different species, but find-
ing, at length, a nest of Ash-coloured
Arfts, they attacked it with their usual
fury, and returned laden with pup and
larve. I was a witness every day during
the summer to these invasions, of which
I shall have frequent occasion still to
speak.

264

CHAPTER VIII.

RESEARCHES INTO THE ORIGIN OF MIXED
OR COMPOUND ANT-HILLS.

‘Lue discovery of societies composed
of different species, apparently living
tranquilly together, was of but trifling
consideration ; an object of by far higher
interest was, to ascertain the real nature
and. intent of this association, and to
decide to which of the two casts the ant-'
hill appertained. The most effectual
method of acquiring this information,
was. undoubtedly that of inspecting the
interior of their common abode, and of
thus coming to the fact, whether there
were males and females of the two
species, or of one only; as a previous

COMPOUND ANT-HILLS. 265

step, it was however necessary to insti-
tute a comparison between the allied
and rival ants, the Amazons, and the
peaceable Ash-coloured Ants, and the
latter intermixed with those of the same
species, in simple ant-hills. The compa-
rison, [ would even say the confronting,
of the Ash-coloured Ants in compound,
with those inhabiting simple ant-hills,
daily repeated, and often with the micro-
scope, left me no doubt of their identity.
The Rufescent Ant, denominated by
M. Latreille, Fourmi roussdtre, in every
point answers the description of those
that fell under my own observation.’
This author, having made, not only a
genus apart, but a distinct class of these
insects, from the simple inspection of
their form, had, without knowing their
manners, given the best proof of the dis.
tance which separates them from the dark
Ash-coloured Ants. In the notes at the
end of this work, a description is given of
both species; I shall here, however,
briefly describe them to prevent the trou-
N

266: COMPOUND. ANT-HILLS.

ble of recurrence. ‘The former (Fourmé.
roussdtre) is one-third larger than the
latter’ (Fourmi noir-cendrée).; its head is
of 9 square-form, its abdomen short and
globose, terminating in an obtuse point,
It carries its head close to the ground,
stands high upon its legs, and moves by
a‘suecession of jerks, ‘The latter has a.
triangular-shaped head, which. it carries,
in an horizontal position; its abdomen is
an- elongated oval, its feet are short, and
its progressive movement more equal and
uniform; ‘The Rufescent Ant is of one
uniform colour, from the antenna te the
extremity of the abdomen, of a red more
or less falling into yellow, and more or
less passing into a brownish tint accord-
ing to its age; the whole of its body 19,
as.it were, invested with a rich glossy,
varnish, -The dark Ash-coloured Ant is
sufficiently well described in its denomi- —
nation; the- rings of its body vary in
eglour from. black to grey, the rest of the
body.is of an unpolished black, but that
part lying between the thorax and.abdo-

COMPOUND ANT-HILLS:, 267

men (l’etranglement) is more frequently
of the same colour; now and then it pre-
sents a yellow tinge, the feet are in colour
a little paler. The mandibles or pincers
of the Rufescent Ant, are very slender,
arched, destitute of teeth, and present no
concavity ; those of the Ash-coloured
Ant are large, broad, hollowed like a
spoon, shaped as a gouge, and furnished
with teeth on the margin. The eyes of
the former species are very small, black,
and round; those of the latter, rather
large and oval. ‘The scale is large and
rounded in the one, large and triangular
inthe other; the Rufescent Ant is more-
over provided with a sting, of which the
dark Ash-coloured Ant is destitute. We
see from this description how much these
species differ.

Let us now pass on to the important
research of the males and females, to
determine who are the original tenants of
the ant-hill, the Amazons, or the Negroes,
for we must look upon those born there
as the first occupants. From an inspee-

N 2

968 COMPOUND ANT-HILLS.

tion of the interior of one of these mixed:
ant-hills, I came to the knowledge of the
singular composition of these republics.
The Negro labourers, by far the most:
numerous, occupied the upper story of
the building ; they were guarding a mul-.
titude of pupse, which appeared to be of
two different species: some resembled.
those of the Negro Ants (probably what
the Amazons had brought thither), others
exhibited the perfect mould of the Martial
Ants; these were larger than the preced-
ing, their mandibles were slender and
arched, their eyes small and black; added.
to this, they had every character of that.
species. There was also under the guard
of the Negro Ants, a considerable number
of larve, belonging to different species,
admitting of easy distinction, from the:
curvature and thickness of the body.
Descending another story, I perceived the:
Amazons collected in numerous groups,
mingled with the Negroes; but what
most interested me, and fully satisfied my:
curiosity, was, the finding among them

COMPOUND ANT-HILLS. 260

little males, entirely black, with glittering
wings, bearing no resemblance to those I
had hitherto met with. At length I
observed females of a large size, of an
orange colour, whose similitude to the
Rufescent Ants, clearly denoted their
origin. ‘The greater part possessed wings ;
in their body, eyes, and teeth, they closely
resembled the Warrior labourers, . but
were of greater size. ‘The males were
not so large as those commonly found in
simple Negro dwellings, and were unlike
them, in not having either the feet or
antenne yellow.

In further examining the interior of
this nest, which was of great depth and
extent, I remarked that the Negroes were
alone occupied in watching over these
males and females, who allowed them-
selves to be conducted from place
to place, as if they looked upon
them as their natural parents. The
Amazons, on the other hand, took not
the slightest notice of them, but retired
and hid themselves as quickly as possible,

n 8

270 COMPOUND ANT-HILLS.

On looking around, I could see no traces
of destruction, nor indeed any thing to
justify a suspicion that the Legionary
ants were endowed with a ferocious in-
stinct, although one would be inclined
to this belief from their martial dispo-
sition.

It seems sufficiently demonstrated by
what we have seen of the contents of a
mixed ant-hill, that zt belongs to the
Amazons, and that it is composed of
three sorts of individuals of that species,
and of Negro labourers. With all my
care, I could perceive neither malés nor
females of this latter cast, but only young
Negro working ants, and these I recog-
nised by their colour. But whence does
this proceed? Are the larvee and pup
taken away from the Negro Ants by the
Amazons developed in the enemy’s en-
campment, and do they afterwards be-
come house-stewards, and auxiliaries to
the warlike tribe with whom they are as-
sociated? Every circumstance seems to
prove that here rests the great mystery

COMPOUND ANT-HIELS. 271

of their association with the Amazons:
brought up ina strange nation, not only do’
they live sociably with their captors,. but
bestow the greatest care upon their larvee
and pupe, their males and females, and
even evince the same regard for them,
transporting them from one part of the
ant-hill to another, going in search. of
provisions for them, building their: ha-
bitation ; forming, as occasion requires,
new galleries, and fulfilling the duties
of sentinels, by guarding the exterior of
their common abode, not once suspeet-
img that they live with those very in-
sects who have expatriated them.

Whilst the Negro Ants are thus en
gaged, the Amazons tranquilly wait at
the bottom of their subterranean abode,
the hour of departure, reserving their
strength, their courage, and the tactie
they so well know how to put in use, for
the purpose of bringing in, from some
neighbouring ant-hill, hundreds of larve,
which they confide to those in charge of
the household establishment; these, in

N 4

*
.

272 COMPOUND ANT-HIELS.

their turn, are destined to become use-
ful to the community.

The ants, whose habitation I had de-
ranged, had already furnished me with
some traits leading to a conjecture of
these truths. When the Amazons, deceiv-
ed by the strange appearance of their nest,
were wandering over the surface, unable
to find a retreat, the Negro Ants, who
were incessantly occupied in forming new
galleries, and who knew better than they
the new localities of the ant-hill, drew
them from their embarrassment by taking
them up gently in their mandibles, and
conducting them to the galleries already
pierced. An Amazon was frequeutly
seen to approach a Negro, and play upon
its head with its antenne, when the lat-
ter immediately seized it in its pincers,
and deposited it at one of the entrances.
The Amazon Ant then unrolled itself,
caressed once more its kind friend, and
passed into the interior of the nest,
It now and then happened that a Negro
Ant, engaged in carrying an Amazon,

COMPOUND ANT-HILLS. 273

lost all knowledge of its route, wander-
ing here and there without finding any
entrance,

-L observed one, after several ineffectual
windings, take the precaution of laying
on the earth the Amazon, who remained
in the same spot until the Negro return-
ed to its assistance, who, having well as-
certained and examined one of the en-
trances, resumed its burthen, and bore it
into the interior. If the entrance to any
gallery was unluckily obstructed by a
mass of earth, and the Negro Ant wished
to introduce by that way one of the
Amazons, it quickly deposited its load,
and began clearing away the impedi-.
ment; this was no sooner effected, than
the Amazon was again taken up, and
carried triumphantly into the nest.

If individual facts prove the harmony
which reigns between these two species,
living under the same roof, general facts
fully illustrate what has been already
stated.

We may readily see, from the appear-

xno

QA: COMPOUND ANT-HILLS.

ance of mixed ant-hills, they are the sole
work of the Ash-coloured Ants, although
they are of greater extent than simple
ant-hills, inhabited by that species, aris-
ing from their double population, and the
prodigious number of auxiliary ants they
contain. ‘Their form, the architecture
displayed in their construction, the sub-
stance of which they are composed, the
interior arrangement, is altogether alike.
I have frequently seen the Negro Ants
of compound ant-hills take advantage of
the rain to construct new stories upon
their original domicile; they also often
increase the extent of it by forming
halls and chambers on the exterior mar-
gin; so that in three or four days they
form, as it were, a new dwelling around
the first enclosure.

The Legionaries never venture abroad,
dike the Ash-coloured Ants, during the
rain, nor do they even, during that pe-
riod, advance so far as the outer gallery ;
nor are any seen, as one would suppose,
presiding over the masons, in their work ;

COMPOUND ANT-HILLS. QT

indeed, the Negroes require neither an
inspector, nor the excitement of the
sting, to induce them to labour ; for they
are eager to build whilst the rain con+
tinues, and their work advances rapidly,
on account of their number being in-
finitely more considerable than that of
the labourers in a simple ant-hill. Their
operations being finished, they are ex-
tremely solicitous the Legionaries should
enjoy the advantage; to this end, they
lose no time in transferring the colony
from the old to the new habitation. But
if we are desirous of witnessing a still
more curious spectacle, we must observe
them when they are about to change
their domicile for one more convenient,
it being upon them alone the office falls
of deciding the urgency of an emigra-
tion, and of choosing the situation best
adapted (usually one where the soil is
loose, admitting of greater facility of
mining) for a new establishment. We
see them at first engaged in carrying
each other to the place destined to this
n 6

276 COMPOUND ANT-HILL6.

object, where each Negro Ant either be-
gins immediately clearing away the earth, |
or returns to bring away more of its com-
rades. When the new habitation is suf-—
ficiently advanced, they transport thither ,
all the Amazons. We now see, in the.
road of communication between the old
and new city, a file of Negro Ants, car-.
rying the Legionaries, whose colour
strikingly contrasts with that of their
conductors. By these faithful guardians, ~
the males and females are afterwards
brought away in the same manner, and.
on their arriving at the entrance of the.
lodge prepared for them, are placed suc-
cessively before the door, when other .
Negro labourers come forward and
take them into the nest. ‘The larve and
pupze are now taken away in their turn,
and safely deposited in the new ha-
bitation. |

In the morning these trusty servants
go in search of provisions for the whole
colony; at one time they bring back
little dead animals, at another time re-

14

COMPOUND ANT-HILLS. 277

turn with their stomachs full of the liquor
furnished them by the pucerons, ‘They
may be constantly seen going and com-
ing on the road to the ant-hill. ‘This is
not the case with the Legionaries, for
they never go in quest of the pucerons,
and it is a rare circumstance should they
venture forth during the early part of the
day.

We have now taken a view of the
Negro Ants or auxiliaries in the several
offices of, procuring provisions for the
republic, constructing a common abode,
and conducting thither its varied in-
habitants; the Amazons, a colony of
soldiers, have, on the contrary, no other
occupation, and no other talent than that
for war; their manners are altogether
distinct. ‘They seldom leave their re-
treat, unless the temperature be above
the 16th degree of Reaumur (67° of
Fahrenheit) when placed in the shade.
The general rendezvous commonly takes
place a little before five in the evening :
I have, however, sometimes seen them

978 COMPOUND ANT-HILLS:

take their departure earlier, but never
before two, nor later than five. They
always return at six or half past six.
They never quit their abode, unless the
weather be fine.

These insects have but one object in
their excursions, that of stealing the
young from an industrious race, and
making slaves of them; and these are
the very individuals, who, after a time,
labour for this Amazon colony, rear their
young, and furnish them with provisions.
This being the sole aim of the Amazons,
they never seize any but larve and
working pups, for the males and females
would be useless. Nature would not as-
suredly allow the destruction of the ha-
bitations of Negro Ants, since this would
be to involve in equal ruin those of the
Amazons.

These warlike ants are sufficiently ais
acquainted with all the nests inhabited
by Ash-coloured Ants in their neighbour-
hood, to each. of which, in turn, they
pay a visit. ‘The route is every day vas

COMPOUND ANT-HILLS. 279

ried, and, as already stated, the same
nest is often pillaged several times suc-
eessively; but they never destroy those
ant-hills from which they have carried
off the young. In the combats, that al-
most invariably take place, but very few
Negro Ants perish, since their adver-
saries have no desire of making them
prisoners, or of disputing the possession
of their invaded city. I have some-
times seen the Amazons, when disposed
in column, take one direction, then sud-
denly return to the garrison, and again
proceed in a contrary direction. I have
also witnessed their army, but very
rarely, separate into two divisions, each
taking a different route. ‘The smallest
division, however, on perceiving it is not
in sufficient force, falls back, and rejoins
the other; but when their force is nearly
equal, each party goes to pillage sepa-
rately, and returns to the garrison laden
with booty. It is not so much by their
real force, as by their impetuosity, that
they succeed in spreading dismay among

280 COMPOUND ANT-HILLS.

the Ash-coloured Ants; for I have seer
an army, composed, at the most, of only
one hundred and fifty Amazons, pene-
trate one of their habitations, and after-
wards safely convey the purloined pups
to their own citadel. What motive ean
possibly influence the Amazons in taking
a certain route, or falling upon one ant-
hill, in preference to another? To this I
can give no direct reply. I once wit-
nessed a Legionary Ant leave the nest
before the hour of departure, apparently
on a journey of discovery; I watched its
movements for some time in the grass,
and found it to visit every dry situation,
and every place which seemed to an-
nounce the existence of an ant-hill, but
I lost sight of it before its return. I
have also seen a few return alone from a
distant spot, and enter precipitately the
garrison, when the army put itself in mo-
tion, and commenced a line of march
precisely in that direction by which the
couriers had arrived ; however, I can, by
no means, affirm this was the reason of
their departure.

COMPOUND ANT-HILLS. 281

_ The signal they adopt is extremely
varied; sometimes they strike against
each other with their forehead or man-
dibles previous to the commencement of
their march; at other times they appear
to excite, by the play of their antenna, a
warlike ardour among their companions ;
it would appear that in this way a know-
ledge of their route is communicated,
for it seems to be fixed at the moment
of departure, since the army proceeds
straight to its purpose. What is remark-
able in the arrangement is, that none of
the ants composing the troop move con-
stantly in the same direction; on their
arrival at the head of the column, they
make a little circuit en forme de boucle,
and re-enter the main body, then, as be-
fore noticed, return to the rear-guard, for
the purpose of giving instruction to those
behind. Eight or ten of the Amazons
seek every opportunity of outstripping
their comrades ; these form the front of
the battalion, but this they scarcely
attain before they fall back into the

289 COMPOUND ANT-HILLS.

general mass, and thus the advanced
guard sustains a continual renovation.

I have never seen Amazon females in
these armies: the neuters alone, as in
all the other species, subject themselves
to the chances of war. They do not
march by groping or feeling their way,
but run after their companions in arms,
without any fear of straggling, and
even should they do so, which is rarely
the case, they are then brought back to
the ant-hill by some of the Negro Ants,
who, upon discovering them, seem suf-
ficiently to understand the nature of their
situation.

I was once present when the whole
army appeared to be deceived in its
route. It commenced its march after
the ordinary manner; in place, however,
of following a straight line, it described
a curve, and reached a distance of about
fifty paces, halting several times. After
diverging on all sides, without discover-
ing any of the usual objects of attack,
they fell again into column, and returned

COMPOUND ANT-HILLS. 288

by the same road to their garrison, reap-
ing no advantage from their expedition.
The decision they took of returning
would furnish ample matter for re-
flection. I shall not now, however, en-
large upon this subject, but limit myself
to the question, how can this fact be ex-
plained on the supposition of a blind in-
stinct?* But here is a fact still more

* There are few terms of more extensive signi-
fication than that of instinct. In its ordinary ac-
ceptation, it implies that principle which deter-
mines the conduct of animals in their several
operations. Admitting, however, all their ordinary
operations to be regulated by such a power, what
have we to say touching those instances (and many
such are on record) where, from existing circum-
stances, the habits of the animals have undergone
a complete change, and recourse has been had to cer-
tain means to attain certain ends. Man fondly ar-
rogates to himself an active principle pervading his
nature, denominated mind: that he should feel
justly proud of this distinction, of that intellectual
superiority which places him so high in the scale of
animal existence, excites little surprise; but let him
have the candour to imagine, that he, perhaps, isnot
the only being thus gifted ; let him but allow a smal]
portion of the same influence upon the lower order
of beings, and we shall then have a rational theory

284: COMPOUND ANT-HILLS.

-extraordinary. Upon their return our
Amazons met with no flattering recep-
tion from the Negroes in the mixed ant-
hill, who individually assailed, buffeted
and dragged them to the outside of the
nest, where they even obliged them to
-act on the defensive: this hostile dispo-
sition, however, continued only a few mo-
ments, when the Amazons were allowed
to re-enter their citadel. Are we to con-
clude that the Negro Ants were surprised
at seeing them arrive without their ac-
customed booty, or did the larve, &c.
serve in their eyes as passports for those
with whose fate their own was so inti-
mately linked ?

The Legionaries never take animal
food. I have often cast among them
living insects, such as_ caterpillars,
worms, &c., but never observed they
touched them. I have also placed before

to account for those occasional deviations from their
natural habits that are inexplicable on the ground of.
instinct alone. — T,

COMPOUND ANT-HILLS. 285

them small pieces of meat, raw and roast-
ed, from which they turned away with
equal indifference, the Negro Ants seiz-
ing upon it at the moment.

Another experiment, which I. fre-
quently repeated, was that of placing
my hand before the army when in march ;
the Amazons passed between my fingers,
unalarmed at my presence; none at-
tempted to pinch or sting me. We could
not put to the same proof, with impunity,
all other species of ants. *

* The Red Ants of this country, on being dis-
turbed, become excessively angry, and fasten upon
the hands and uncovered parts of the body, where
they produce an almost intolerable itching, not
much unlike that occasioned by the stinging nettle.
From Perceval we learn, that the large Red
Ants of Ceylon, which live on trees, and build
their nests among the branches, bite very severely.
This seems, also, tobe the case with a black ant
found in the same island, which, according to Knox,
“‘ bites desperately ; as bad as if a man were burnt
by a coal of fire.’ Anderson, in his account of
the natural productions of Van Diemen’s Land,
states, among other insects, he met with two that
were excessively troublesome, the mosquito, and a
large black ant, whose bite, he observes, occasioned

286 COMPOUND ANT-HILLS.

I have never seen the Amazons take:
nourishment but from the mouth of the
Negroes. I have presented to them
honey and fruit, which. they left un-
tasted. When hungry, they approach
their auxiliaries, and these disgorge in
their mouths the juices they have obtain-
ed in their daily intercourse with the
pucerons.

An experiment that I tried. upon the
Legionaries convinced me of their des
pendance upon their humble compa-
nions, both for nourishment and_ habi-
tation. I enclosed thirty of these ants,
with several pupz and larve of their
own species, and twenty pup belonging
to the Negroes, in a glass box, the bot-
tom of which was covered with a thick
layer of earth: I placed a little honey in

very severe pain. Sir Joseph Banks notices a green
ant, which he saw in New South Wales, that pro-
duces a pain equal to the sting of a bee; and
Stedman informs us, that, at Surinam, the Fire
Ant (so called from the burning sensation it ocea-
sions) greatly annoyed the soldiers, making them
leap about, as if scalded with boiling water. — T.

COMPOUND ANT-HILLS. 287

the corner of their prison, and cut off
all association with their auxiliaries. At
first they appeared to pay some little at-
tention to the larvee ; they carried them
here and there, but presently replaced
them. More than one-half of the Ama-
zons died of hunger in less than two
days. ‘They had not even traced out
a dwelling, and the few ants still in
existence were languid, and without
strength. I commiserated their con-
dition, and gave them one of their black
companions. ‘This individual, unassist-
ed, established order, formed a chamber
in the earth, gathered together the
larvae, extricated several young ants that
were ready to quit the ‘condition of
pupz, and preserved the life of the re-
maining Amazons. ‘This result needs no
commentary: I leave to each the liberty
of drawing his own conclusions,

288

CHAP. IX.

FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE AMAZON
ANTS.

Ir any proof were still wanting of the
origin of auxiliary ants in mixed ant-
hills, the discovery of other habitations of
this kind would, doubtless, throw much
light upon this subject. I had not long
been occupied, before I discovered such,
in which the Amazons were the same,
but the auxiliaries different, being of
that species denominated Mining Ants.
The Mining Ants (Fourmi mineuse),
who build after the manner of Negro
Ants (of which I have already treated in
the chapter on architecture) are a little
larger than the latter, from which they

AMAZON ANTS. 289

also differ in the colour of the breast,
which is of a bright red. The feet and
antennz are also of a reddish cast; in
regard to the rest of the body, there isa
close resemblance: but for the real dis-
tinction between these two species, we
must look to their character. The Min-
ing Ants possess great vivacity, are very
courageous, and live upon animal food.
The Negro Ants are, on the other hand,
timid and pacific. It was not, therefore,
without astonishment, that I saw, for the
first time, an ant-hill, composed of Le-
gionary and Mining Ants; it was at
least thrice the size of the simple Miner
ant-hills, and contained a vast number of
inhabitants of the two casts. Among
the individuals of this society, the same
kind of intelligence seemed to reign as
among those which had fallen under my
previous notice.

‘The Mining Ants go forth in a crowd,
from morning ‘until evening, for the
purpose of foraging in the neighbourhood,
and thus providing for the wants of the

)

290 AMAZON ANTS.

colony: on their return they share the
fruits of their industry with the Amazons,
who are as idle in this community, as in
that of compound Negro ant-hills, The
Mining Ants, moreover, are alone employ-
ed in establishing a new domicile, and
transporting thither the Rufescent Ants,
their puper, their larvee, and the rest of
the colony, whenever they wish to
change their abode; in a word, they are
equally excellent labourers as the Negro
Ants, and display much more zeal in
defending their nest.

If compound ant-hills owe their exist-
ence to the pillage of the pupe, the
object of the Amazon Ants in their
excursions would be, to attack the dwel-
ling of Mining Ants, when their asso-
ciates were of that cast, and of Negro
Ants when they lived with ants of that
species.

In the neighbourhood of the mixed
ant-hill of which I have just spoken,
comprising a circumference of more than
fifty paces, there was no habitation of

AMAZON ANTS. 291

Negro Ants: but, of the Miner ant-hills
there was greatabundance. ‘This, there-
fore, was a sufficient reason for believing,
that the ants of that species, living with
the Amazons, drew their origin from these
several colonies. ‘To be assured of this,
I visited a compound Miner ant-hill,
between four and five in the evening, a
time when the army usually commences
its march: the Amazons were already
assembled on the nest, and ready to set
forth; they proceeded like a torrent
along a deep dyke, and marched in a
more compact body than ordinary. In
a short time they reached the nest they
proposed to attack, which was mhabited
by Mining Ants. As soon as the Legion-
aries began entering the subterranean
city, the Miners rushed out in crowds,
and whilst some fell upon the invaders
with great spirit, others passed through
the scene of contest, solely occupied in
bearing off to a place of safety their larvee
and pupe. The surface of the nest was
for some time the theatre of war. The
0 2

992 AMAZON ANTS,

Legionaries were often despoiled of the
pupe they had seized by the Miners, who
darted upon them with amazing spirit,
fighting body to body, and disputing the
ground with an exasperation I had. never
before witnessed. The Amazon army
was, notwithstanding successful, and
recommenced its march in good order,
laden with pupe and larve; instead,
however, of proceeding in file, it now
maintained close rank, forming a com-
pact mass, a precaution the more neces-
sary, as the courageous insects upon
whom they had made this attack, hastened
in pursuit, and even harassed them, to
within ten paces of their citadel.

. During these combats the pillaged
ant-hill presented, in miniature, the spec-
tacle of a besieged city : hundreds of its
inhabitants were observed to quit. it,
carrying here and there the pupa, larve,
and.young females they were anxious to
preserve from the fury of their enemies.
The major part mounted the neighbour-
ing plants, bearing the young between

AMAZON ANTS, 298

their teeth ; others deposited them under
the thick bushes. When the danger was
entirely gone by, they brought them
back into the city, and barricaded the
gates, near which they posted themselves
in great number to guard the entrance.
All was calm, however, in the mixed
ant-hill; the Amazons had entered quiet-
ly their abode, and had been received
by the auxiliary ants as the real pro-
prietors.

Immediately after, the Legionaries again
departed, and proceeded towards a Miner
ant-hill of considerable extent, consider-
ing themselves in sufficient force to cope
with the guardians of that habitation:
they threw themselves en masse upon
one of the galleries indifferently guarded;
but their number not permitting them to
enter all at once, the Mining Ants that
were without, immediately precipitated
themselves upon the invaders: and whilst
they were engaged in desperate combat,
their fellow-citizens in considerable num-
ber, losing, perhaps, every hope of

03

294 AMAZON ANTS.

defending their abode, and the little ones
confided to their care, left the nest with
the pupe, larvee, and youngest ants, took
night in every direction, and _ literally
covered the ground to a considerable
distance. ‘The contest became every
moment warmer: here the Amazons were
endeavouring to seize the pups, which
the Miners were removing from the seat
of war; there the besieged were observed
to vrest from the conquerors the fruit
of their rapine. Confusion was at its
height; Legionaries and Miners attacked
each other impetuously, and often in the
excess of their fury, deceived as to their
object, fell upon their companions,
whom, however, they immediately re-
leased.. This commotion was confined
to the rear-guard of the Legionary army;
the main body, richly freighted, left the
devastated city, and forming into square
battalion, retraced their steps to their
own citadel, constantly assailed by the
Miners, who, for some time, continued
the pursuit. It is only by their address,

AMAZON ANTS. 2905

the rapidity of their movements, and the
use of their sting, that the Legionaries are
enabled to disengage themselves. Ihave
often remarked, during these combats,
the females of the Miners take flight,
bearing off the pupe in their mouths,
acting in this respect like simple workers;
but have never known them to take any
share in defence of their nest. The
pillage and skirmishes are not of long
continuance ; for in less than a quarter of
an hour, we find the Amazons on the
road to their garrison. Notwithstanding
the courage and exasperated state of both
parties, but a triflmg number of ants
perish. *

This scene, brilliant for its extent, was
renewed as often as the Amazons found
the temperature friendly to their depar-
ture. ‘The purloined pup are soon

* If, aecording to our author, but few ants perish
on the field of battle, I am inclined to think, thata
considerable number die of the wounds and injuries
they receive, shortly after their return to the
nest. — T.

o 4

296 AMAZON. ANTS.

developed: and not knowing their real
family, (like the Negro Ants in mixed
ant-hills,) bestow all their care upon the
offspring of the Amazons.

Here then are two distinct species of
auxiliary ants, in whose form and charac-
ter we trace no resemblance, affording a
favourable opportunity for solving the
question, relative to the composition of
these ant-hills, If in compound Negro
ant-hills, and in compound Miner ant-
hills, we find males and females of but
one species, we must, of course, conclude,
they have no relation to the auxiliary
ants, but only to the Amazons; indeed
those which I saw carried on several occa-
sions by the Mining workers, in their
emigration from one nest to another, in
every respect resembled the little males
and large females, met with in mixed
Negro ant-hills: and I have looked in
vain for others in the same habitation.
I have even been present at the time of
their leaving their abode, and can affirm,
notwithstanding researches the most assi-

AMAZON ANTS. 207

duous, attention the most unwearied, I
never yet perceived any which were not
in every respect like those I have de-
scribed. Their departure and the cir-
cumstances attending it is by no means
a point of indifference. For several
successive days they come to the surface
of the nest, surrounded by the Mining
Ants, who form their escort, and take the
same care of them as the workers in
simple ant-hills, of the males and females
of their own species. At length they quit
the nest and commence their aérial
excursions. ‘9?

On the 31st July, at half-past ten in the
morning, I saw several little black males
issue from a compound Negro ant-hill;
accompanied by a considerable number
of Negro Ant labourers. The number
of males were continually increasing ;
several Amazons on this occasion also
left the nest, and came among them,.
although it was to them an unaccustomed
hour; they approached the males and
licked them after the manner of the

05

298 AMAZON ANTS.

Negro Ants. At length the large females
came forth from the citadel, climbed
the neighbouring plants, and in their
turn received from the Negro Ants and
the Amazons, the same attention as the
males. At eleven o’clock the males
became extremely restless, ran against
and overturned each other, beat the air
with their wings, and finally finished
their gambols by taking flight. The
females followed their example. More
than fifty females, and four times as many
males, quitted the nest. I kept guard for
some time thinking they would return ;
' but I never saw them more.

The appearance of this ant-hill was
both satisfactory and pleasing ; the con-
trast of females of a fine yellow colour,
with little males entirely black; of winged
insects with neuters destitute of wings;
and of Amazon labourers, living in friend-
ly union with such a number of Ash-
coloured Ants, presented a picture full
of interest, notwithstanding the trifling
size of the objects that composed it.

AMAZON ANTS. 299

In compound ant-hills I have now and
then observed some very remarkable in-
dividuals which may be seen delineated
in Pl. 2. fig. 1. These are Rufescent
Ants, equalling, in size, females of the same
species, differing only in the form of their
thorax, which is not enlarged, and des-
tined to bear wings; it resembles that of
the labourers. These individuals are,
from their size, classed with females, but
they do not possess wings. I should
have assigned them a place among the
labourers, had I ever seen them take part
in their excursions.* Here then is

* “Tt is remarkable,” says Gould, “ of com-
mon yellow and hill-settlements, (alluding to the
nests of F. flava and F. rufa,) that you will find
two sizes of workers in most of theni, the larger
exceed the less about one part in three ; but there
is no apparent difference as to contexture or other
circumstances. They are mutually interspersed
all over the colony, and carry on the same offices
of labour and employment.” This observation of
Gould is confirmed by specimens in the cabinet of
Mr. Kirby. This gentleman informs us, that he
saw them labouring in the colony, and that the
large workers of F’. rufa are, nearly three times,
and of F, flava twice the size of the small ones, —T.

o 6

300 AMAZON ANTS.

another example of those transitions we
have remarked between the females and
labourers of some insects .of the same
genus. Among bees there are. several
modifications of queens; there exist, also,
among humble. bees fecund labourers. of
different degrees of size, resembling, in
almost every respect, females. . ‘This fact
comes in support of those already given,
and must convince us, that females. and
labourers are originally of the same order,
and do not owe their form and real cha-
racter, but to the more or less complete
developement of their organs. . 1 know
not if the individuals, of which I have
just spoken, are capable of laying, nor
can I state the purport of their creation ;
be this as it may, they are extremely rare,
and have no relation with the Ash-co-
loured and Mining Ants, in mixed ant-
hills, where we equally find them.

Let us now return to the winged fe-
males. A little time after quitting their
natal abode, they lose their wings like the
ants of other species, traverse the ground,

AMAZON ANTS. SOL.

and seek a place of shelter. I could
have wished it were possible to follow
them ; for their history, especially that
part of it which relates to their new pro-
geny, strongly excited my curiosity. To
ascertain how these several colonies exist
on their first formation, is a task of ex-
treme difficulty : how, at this period, can
they associate themselves with auxiliary
ants, not being in sufficient force to make
the necessary incursions toprocure them?
How, under these circumstances, do they.
act or can they do without them? Not
being able to answer these questions, I
shall adduce some proofs, showing that
the Amazons are more skilful in the
domestic arts than idlers, or those habi-
tuated to a life of ease.

Monsieur Latreille, more fortunate than
myself, found one of these newly formed
ant-hills. After giving a description of
the Rufescent Ant, (of which we have
been accustomed to speak under the
name of Legionary or Amazon Ant,) he
observes, ‘This species is exceedingly

302 AMAZON ANTS.

rare; I never observed it in society but
once, and this society consisted only of
a few members. It runs remarkably
quick, and makes its nest, I believe, in the
earth.” Had there been any association
with the auxiliary ants, this careful ob-
server would doubtless have noticed and
been much struck with it.* I look
upon it, therefore, as an almost certain
fact, that the Rufescent Ants, before they
are accustomed to the services of the
Ash-coloured and Mining Ants, can put
in use faculties which lie dormant when
they become associated with these aux-
iliaries. It even happens they will
sometimes assume their office, that is,
change parts with them: a fact of which
I have been once, and once only, a
witness.

* Since this passage was written M. Latreille has
frequently witnessed these mixed societies, or the
association in one common abode of the Rufescent
Ants with its auxiliaries, (the Ash-coloured and
the Mining Ant). He takes the opportunity of
paying a high compliment to our Author for this
discovery. — T.

AMAZON ANTS. 8038

A compound ant-hill was established a
short time since, on the terrace of the
house in which I resided. I carefully
observed the excursions of the Amazons,
and one day remarked, they directed
their route to a deserted ant-hill: the
ants who had previously occupied it,
pillaged doubtless too often by their so
much dreaded neighbours, had taken the
precaution of decamping with arms and
baggage. The Amazons, who were
perhaps badly lodged, profited by this
circumstance. After having visited it,
they returned, took up in their mouths
the Negro Ants of the mixed ant-hill,
and transported them to the new habit-
ation. This operation lasted some
hours, and the emigration was completely
effected in this manner.

In this mstance I saw the inverse of
what I had hitherto observed, but never
experienced the gratification of witness-
ing a repetition. ‘Lhe Amazons carried
the Ash-coloured Ants as the latter
usually carry them. ‘The whole colony

804 AMAZON ANTS.

being transferred to the new lodging,
they there rested, and each species again
returned to their ordinary duties.

We see, from this example, that it is
highly probable the Amazons know more
than they would seem to know; and if we
have seen them perish of hunger rather
than take the trouble of providing for
themselves, we must attribute it to the
custom of their receiving nourishment
immediately from the Ash-coloured Ants,
and never going themselves insearch of it.

Those who live in small numbers with
their maternal parent, not being as yet
accustomed to an idle life, do not, pro-
bably, confine themselves to the sole ‘oc-
cupation of war, but engage in domestic
duties; for during a certain period, the
ant-hill is entirely composed of Amazons.
But when their number shall have given
them confidence, they are then seen to
sally forth to procure the pupz of the Ash-
coloured and Mining Ants; which,
under their management, become auxili-
aries and useful companions. These are

AMAZON ANTS. 8305

only conjectures, and perhaps very distant
from the truth. I know, however, of
none more plausible to explain the form-
ation of new Amazon ant-hills.

As to the preservation of compound.
ant-hills, I believe it consists, as in all
other ant-hills, in reserving some preg-
nant females to keep up the population.
I have often seen in these habitations,
and in all seasons, females destitute of
wings. I opened, inthe middle of April,
some of these dwellings, where I found a
considerable number of eggs, agglutina-
ted together, assiduously guarded by
Negro Ants. I also noticed some Ama-
zon females, surrounded by the same
guardians. They inhabited the most
elevated part of the building, and the
eggs were collected near them. In the
month of June I first perceived the
male pup in their enveloping mem-
brane; their larve being in the number
of those that spin: the female pup
were rather later in appearing. ‘They
were liberated from their envelope, by

806 AMAZON ANTS.

the Negro labourers, in the same manner
as the pupe of Ash-coloured and Mining
Ants, a little time before their last trans-
formation. It is only in the month of
July they pass into that state which puts
them in a condition for flying. The
pupe of the Amazon Labourers were at
that time very numerous in all their
nests, but I no longer found there the
pupx of Ash-coloured and Mining Ants.
The pupe which the Legionaries had
purloied the preceding year, were de-
veloped before autumn; their last inva-
sions occurring in September. These
warrior ants have only two months and
a half to collect all the pupae of which
they stand inneed. ‘The temperature is:
often sufficiently high in May and the
beginning of June to allow of their de-
parture ; they do not, however, venture
abroad until their males are on the point
of undergoing their transformation : they
sometimes leave the nest individually,
and are then always stopped by the
Negroes, who bring them back to the ant--

AMAZON ANTS. 807

hill. I know not from what motive this
conduct on the part of the auxiliaries
arises; I have often remarked it, and it
is a certain fact, that the Legionaries
never go to pillage before that period.
If they began earlier to purloin the larve
and pupz belonging to the Negro Ants,
they would make great booty ; it would,
however, be in a great degree composed of
the pupe of males and females, and these
it seems, they are not permitted to seize.
Nature, aware of the serious inconve-
niencies that would arise from an attack
made at this time by the Amazons, par-
ticularly guards against it, by producing
the males and females of those ant-hills
destined to pillage at a much earlier
period than the males and females of
the martial ants, and in not permitting
thelatter to be engaged in acts of rapine,
until the metamorphosis of the winged
imsects has taken place.

The Ash-coloured and Mining Ants,
are to be considered then as the negroes
of the Amazons ; it is from among them

808 AMAZON: ANTS.

the latter procure slaves; they kidnap
them at an age when their instinct
is not developed ; and these insects, on
being brought up by the Amazons,
divide with them the fruit of their in-
dustry. Can we sufficiently admire the
prudence and wisdom these insects dis-
play in the establishment of such an in-
stitution! We here trace neither servi-
tude nor oppression, nor do the ants
themselves, taken from perhaps twenty
different dwellings, entertain the slightest
suspicion of their being in a foreign nest:
they live under the same roof in brotherly.
and sisterly union, and if they regard the
Amazons, it is but to show them greater
attention. Nature, profound in her
combinations, seems fully aware that old
ants would never live sociably with those
of another species, but that young ants
may, especially if they have been accus-
tomed in early life to see and receive
from them some attention. She seems,
also, aware, that no aversion is excited in
the breasts of those who witness their

AMAZON ANTS. 309

birth. It is in this way, she has institut-
ed mixed or compound ant-hills: it is
on this account the Amazons in their ex-
peditions never carry off adult ants, only
larve and pupz; for the same reason,
they never seek the destruction of their
enemies, their only aim being to steal
from them their little ones.

An important truth relative to the
moral condition of these insects, rests
upon these facts —that.their instinct is
capable of receiving several modifica-
tions. Ants, carried away in their
youth, may become familiar, and even
live with an hostile species; it is in the
first period of their life those impressions
are formed which they always preserve.
The very same objects that would natu-
rally have excited their hatred, now only
inspire them with a sentiment of love.

310

CHAP. X.

ESTABLISHMENT OF A MIXED ANT-HILL
IN A GLASS APPARATUS.

L wap often established, with success,
artificial ant-hills, and am indebted to
them for several interesting observations
on the Fallow, Yellow, and other ants, I
now resolved upon making the attempt
of fixing, in an apparatus of the same
kind, a colony of Amazon Ants, with
their auxiliaries. The knowledge I had
already acquired upon mixed ant-hills
greatly facilitated my views. In de-
scribing the particulars of this experi-
ment, the manners of these two species
will be completely developed.

I constructed an apparatus, to which,
for the sake of abridgement, I shall, as

MIXED ANT-HILL. 811

formerly, give the name of ruche. It
consisted of a double vertical frame,
twenty inches in length, by ten in depth,
glazed on both sides; the distance be-
tween the two frames was only ten lines.
I found this, however, too great, and,
therefore, lessened it by placing a sheet
of tin, drilled in numerous places, pa-
rallel with the two glasses. On the fore-
part of the ruche was a vertical port-
cullis, which could be raised or lowered
at will, thus answering as a door. (This
apparatus should not be raised upon feet,
like those I have before described, but
should be so constructed as to rest im-
mediately upon the earth, by means of
two very strong /iteaux, inserted in the
bottom of the ruche, and projecting, on
each side.) Two wooden shutters ex-
cluded the light, and several holes, drilled
in the upper part of the apparatus, allow-
ed of my presenting honey to the ants,
or pouring water into the interior, as
often as it should be judged necessary.
It was in this ruche, of which we may see

$12 MIXED ANT-HILL

a figure in Plate 1. that I thought of
establishing a mixed ant-hill; and was
desirous the ants should settle there of
their own accord. ‘To render them less
sensible of the singularity of their abode,
I filled the lower half of this apparatus
with fine and slightly moistened earth,
and deposited honey in several places.

These preparations being finished, I
chose oneof the most populous mixed ant-
hills, inwhichwere many males andyoung
Amazon females. I removeda great part
of this nest, placed it in a large linen
bag, and then carried it to my study.

I established between my prisoners,
and the lodging they were to occupy
a free communication by means of a
little canal of wood glazed on its upper
surface, having one of its extremities in-
serted into the bag, and the other into
the door of the ruche. ‘This done, I left
the ants to themselves. On the follow-
ing morning I saw some of the Ash-
coloured Ants leave the bag and enter
the ruche through the glazed canal. In

Apes

IN A “GLASS APPARATUS. 313

the evening more passed. The second day
they commenced carrying each other
into the apparatus. Their number aug-
mented hourly. At length the canal
scarcely sufficed for the crowd of insects -
going and returning; it was obstructed
by the recruits, and these were, for the
most part, engaged in transporting the
Legionary Ants from the bag to the ruche.

Having this glazed conduit, I was not
obliged to open the shutters to see what
was passing. The advantage of this
arrangement was, that of not alarming
the ants, whilst it assured me of their
forming an establishment in the artificial
ant-hill, preparing lodgings there, and
removing the useless materials, such as
flints or pebbles, and pieces of earth too
dry to be put in work. I found from
this, that it was necessary to moisten the
earth in the interior, and, therefore,
poured water through the holes in the
upper part of the apparatus, which
completely answered (as will be presently
seen) all my wishes.

P

-

314 MIXED ANT-HILL

By the fourth day, the whole of the ants
appeared to know the road, and had
ceased to carry each other. But as I ob-
served many re-enter the bag, I was
fearful they might take the whim of fix-
ing themselves there : I, therefore, oblig-
ed them to return into the ruche. With
this view, I separated the bag from the
glazed canal, and scattered gently all the
earth it contained upon the floor near
the artificial ant-hill. I constructed all
around a. brick wall, and reduced be-
tween my fingers the several clods; so
that the ants could not conceal them-
selves. I then re-fixed one end of the
glazed canal to the door of the ruche,
placing the other end on the ground;
forming an inclined plane, in such a way
that the ants could go out and find their
companions roving in the enclosure.
The Ash-coloured Ants actually de-
scended by this passage, and immediately
brought back into their new abode the
stragglers. They looked for them in

IN A GLASS APPARATUS. 815

every corner, visited the smallest clod of
earth, examined scrutinously the re-
mains of their former nest, and thence
drew their companions of both species,
taking them up in their mouths and
transporting them immediately to the
ruche. ‘This operation finished, I went
out to find the rest of the nest which I
had left in the field, and then dispersed
it in my study ; a few of the Ash-colour-
ed, or Negro Ants, in the ruche, perceiv-
ing fresh arrivals wandering about the
floor, came out, and carried them into
the new habitation. I was much asto-
nished on seeing several ants leave the
apparatus at the same time, as if they
had been told there were many ants still
to bring in. They immediately put
themselves to work, constantly arriving
with their companions of both species
suspended by their mandibles, or setting
off in file to seek those who still remain-
ed unsheltered: whilst these were thus
engaged, their companions constructed
galleries in the heap of earth I had
P 2

316 MIXED ANT+HILL

brought in, and disengaged a great num.’
ber of labourers, larvee, and pupe, which
were there imprisoned. They worked
with indefatigable activity. I was struck
by their zeal. ‘They brought to my recol-
lection those famous dogs, who appear as-
sociated in charity with their masters, for
the purpose of extricating from under-
neath the snow of the Alps engulphed
travellers.

The Legionary Ants took no active
part -in this interesting scene: the
Negro Ants were particularly careful of
them, often conducting them into the
interior of the nest, but sometimes con-
tenting themselves with laying them
down at the entrance of the glazed canal,
going immediately in search of others.
The Rufescent Ant, in this case, re-
mained, for a moment, curled up, with-
out movement; it then unrolled itself, and
looked around, on all sides, without
knowing where it was, or what direction
it should take. I saw it, then, approach
the Ash-coloured Ants, and implore their

IN A GLASS APPARATUS. 317

assistance, by the aid of its antenne,
until one that had little to do, seized and
carried it into the nest.

In eight days the ruche was completely
peopled, and I was in hopes I had
acquired a sure means of observing what
passed in the interior of these singular
republics. I hastened, then, to submit
it to the proof. For this purpose, I
carried out my ruche, and placed it upon
the grass, allowing its inhabitants the
full liberty of leaving it. I confess this
was not done without some degree of
apprehension ; for I might thus lose, in
one moment, the fruit of all my care;
but I was encouraged by the hope
that the Ash-coloured Ants attached to ©
their work, would not abandon it so
readily.

The first day, the Negro Ants, availing
themselves of their liberty, visited the
environs of their abode. ‘They returned,
just as I could wish. Some individual
Amazons, also, went out, but were
quickly brought back by their auxiliaries.

P 3

318 _ MIXED ANT-HILL

On the day following, the Ash-coloured
Ants guarded their door very assi-
duously; they heaped up many pieces
of stone, &c. to narrow it, and thus
oppose the entrance of certain ants at-
tracted thither by the odour of the
honey. They went, also, in search of
the pucerons.

In the evening, the air being ex-
tremely warm, and the sun shining upon
the ant-hill, I saw the Amazons prepare
for an expedition. ‘The whole army
descended by means of the glazed canal.
The signal being given, they set forward
in an entire body, and fell upon a nest of
Ash-coloured Ants, situated a few paces
from the ruche. The Amazons re-
turned with the success usually attend-
ing these incursions. Each disposed of
his load at the door of the artificial ant-
hill, into which the Ash-coloured Ants
immediately introduced it. ‘The warlike
ants returned directly to carry off the
rest of the larvee; and, as it was only a
trifling distance to the scene of pillage

IN A GLASS APPARATUS. 319

an uninterrupted chain of Amazons was
established; some going to seek the
pup, whilst others were bearing them
away. At length they re-entered their
own habitation, but came out in a quar-
ter of an hour, and made their last at-
tack upon the ant-hill, purloining, this
time but a very few larva, and retiring
tranquilly to the ruche.

I was greatly pleased on seeing the
Amazons return to the artificial ant-hill,
and confide their booty to their auxili-
aries. This was a flattering omen for
the success of my experiment, and froni
this period I indulged the hope of seeing
the manners and habits of these insects
fully developed. That I might not alarm
them by the introduction of a strong
light before they had fully established
themselves in the ruche, the shutters
were kept, for some time, completely
closed. I was, however, extremely im-
patient to witness the interior, and it was
now time to ascertain the extent of their
labours, and observe the immediate con-

P 4

820 MIXED ANT-HILL

sequences attending the capture of the’
pupe. When I opened the shutters, I was
agreeably surprised in viewing, at one
glance, the whole of the interior of the ant-
hill. The ants had mined the entire mass
of earth. ‘The glass, on one side, and the
sheet of tin on the other, served as walls
to the several chambers they had ex-
cavated. All their passages, their halls,
even to the smallest apartments, were
distinctly visible. They constituted ir-
regular stories, some larger than others,
the former were of greater elevation, the
lateer more elongated or narrowed. It
was evident the ants had mzned, and not
masoned, or worked up the earth: what
they had drawn from the interior, was
heaped up upon the last ceiling or roof.
The walls were rendered so compact and
solid as to run little risk of being thrown
down by the weight of the materials they
supported.
Here the pupz and larve were col-
lected in the large chambers. ‘There the
Amazon army was stationed. In another

IN A GLASS APPARATUS. 32}

place, the main body of auxiliaries were
assembled. I had scarcely time to
make these observations, the ants being
much alarmed by the sudden introduc-
tion of the light. The Amazons left
their garrison, and ran over the glass,
but re-assembled, in a short time, in the
most elevated part of the building, and
formed themselves in groups close to the
vault or roof. ‘The Negro Ants, at the
same moment, seized the larve and
pupe, carried them to the darkest places,
passed through the holes in the sheet of
tin, and reached the side opposite to that
where I was taking my observations, the
shutter of which had not been opened.
By degrees, I was enabled so to manage
the light that it should no longer alarm
these insects, or at least so triflingly, that
tranquillity might be speedily restored,
I could thus follow them in their opera-
tions (which was absolutely necessary)
at my ease.

The Amazons always ainainasl on.. or
affixed to the ceiling of their under-

Po

822 MIXED ANT-HILL

ground chambers *, did not quit their
position, but to approach the Ash-colour-
ed Ants, whose assistance was a point of
vital importance. I saw none of them
approach the larvae or pupze, or touch the
provisions I had placed within reach ;
nor did meat and honey ever tempt them.
I witnessed, in its fullest extent, the great
care with which the auxiliaries treated
them; the latter were constantly oceu-
pied in nourishing and brushing them ;
carrying them from one quarter of the
ant-hill to another; conducting them
where the temperature was highest, re-

* The ceiling or roof of the chambers in which
these insects are lodged, appears to constitute their
favourite residence. This I found to be the case
with some female ants I kept in confinement. It is
highly probable this position against gravity is
maintained by means of an apparatus similar to
what Sir Everard Home has observed in regard to
the house-fly, of which he has given a full descrip-
tion, in the Philosophical Transactions, for 1816.
It is, no doubt, upon this principle, that ants are
enabled to walk perpendicularly up walls, bearing in
their pincers insects (of which we haye many in-
stances) considerably larger and heavier than them-
selves, — T.

IN A GLASS APPARATUS. 828

assembling them with their companions,
&e. I also observed a large body of
the auxiliaries surrounding a Rufescent
female without wings, for whom they
expressed great solicitude; the rest of
the males and females were on the out-
side of the ant-hill, attended by a numer-
ous coriége of Ash-coloured Ants, and
by some Amazons; they soon took flight
and were never seen to return.

Every day the Legionaries made fresh
incursions on the neighbouring ant-hills,
and thus considerably increased the num-
ber of their pupz: but when once
placed within the ruche they were no
longer the objects of their attention. It
was now the business of the auxiliaries to
attend and convey them to the different
chambers, which is regulated by the hour
of the day and direction of the sun.
Some of the pupe were still enveloped in
their cocoon; others had been extricated
from fhem: the Negro Ants often came,
notwithstanding my presence, to liberate
them from their imprisonment. ‘The co-

p 6

824 MIXED ANT-HILL

coon of the Amazon pup», consisted of a
browner silk than that of the Ash-coloured,
pupe, and was also one third longer ;
but their number did not equal those of
the pupee of the other cast. The larve
of both species were placed in different
apartments, for they had, without doubt,
wants relative to their age ; but the Ash-
coloured Ants alone took care of and
nourished them, &c. I once, however,
saw an Amazon engaged in removing the
last pellicle from one of the Ash-coloured
pupz; the Amazon took it up with the
same delicacy as other ants, and the
labourer, the object of its care, evinced
no symptom of fear on its being so close
to this warrior, who did it no injury, and.
left it as soon as it was liberated. This
affords another instance, that the Ama-
zons are not absolutely unqualified for
labour.

The ruche exhibited a greater popula-
tion every day, and a considerable number
of Ash-coloured Ants was developed
there: these I recognised by their grey

IN A GLASS APPARATUS. 825

colour. I alsosaw young Amazon Ants,
which were a little paler in colour than
the old of the same species; both received
every attention from the auxiliaries.
Tranquillity and unanimity reigned in
this mixed colony. ‘The ants appeared
perfectly happy in their abode, yet
thought, however, of quitting it. The
Ash-coloured species, wearied perhaps
by the frequent opening and closing of
the shutters, began to emigrate, and form-
ed a little cavity in the turf, a few
paces from the ruche. I deranged their
operations and suspended their emigra-
tions, by placing the ruche in another
situation; but some days. after they
discovered another dwelling, and recom~
menced their recruiting, when I took the
precaution of closing the door, and bring-
ing the artificial ant-hill back to my study.
I there kept it a considerable time, and
the confirmation was greater, from day
to day, of what I had hitherto acquired.
When the weather was favourable, (be-
tween the hours of three and five), I took

326 MIXED ANT-HILL

it out and placed it on the grass, and
always observed the Legionaries pay 4
visit to the neighbouring ant-hills. At
length, expecting no further information,
I resolved upon trying an experiment I
had frequently meditated, and as often
dismissed, on account of my close attach-
ment to my prisoners ; this was to bring
into immediate combat two Legionary
armies.

With this view I waited till I saw the
Amazon Ants, inhabiting another mixed
ant-hill, which was situated in the garden,
quit it; when I hastened to place my
artificial ant-hill: full im front of their
advancing column. After a trifling com-
bat, which took place at the door of the
ruche, those in the interior went out in
force, when the enemy’s column appeared
desirous to avoid battle, taking at first
another direction, then returning and
re-entering their nest. Several ants from
the ruche put themselves in pursuit: -
some went even as’ far as the enemy’s
garrison, where they were retained ; two

IN A. GLASS APPARATUS. 327

or three only escaped, and these I ob-
served returned in great haste. The
entire army now left the ruche, and pro-
ceeded to the mixed ant-hill; I looked
forward to a general battle, but when the
column had arrived to within a few paces
of the entrance, it fell back, with the
exception of a small body, composed of
about three hundred Legionary Ants,
who continued their route, until they
reached the ant-hill. The Amazons
assembled on the surface appeared ex-
tremely agitated, as if they had foreseen
the attack with which they were threat-
ened. The combatants fought body to
body; but the strangers threw themselves
into a gallery with so much impetuosity,
that the others could not restrain them.
This courageous incursion did not suc-
ceed; they all perished, not however,
without making great havoc; for when
I saw the Amazons of the natural ant-hill
resume their expeditions, I found their
army reduced to one half its original

328 MIXED ANT-HILL.

number. The ruche had not suffered so
great a diminution. . I replaced it upon
the grass, and allowed the Ash-coloured
Ants the liberty of emigrating, which
they did, in the manner we have already.
described.

329:

CHAP. XI.

HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF THE SANGUINE
ANTS.

Pur Sanguine Ants present us com-
pound ant-hills of a different kind. From
their analogy to the Legionary Ants,
they will be found to corroborate the
preceding facts, and will still elucidate
this subject, by the contrast of their
conduct. with that of the Legionaries,
who pass from a state of combat to a state
of ease.

They owe the name they bear to the
colour of the head and thorax: the abdo-
men is ash-coloured and slightly bronzed;
the feet of a blood-red. These ants are
larger than the Legionaries, whom they

330 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF

resemble only in manners. In the gene-
ral form of the body they have a greater
similarity to Fallow Ants, than to those
of any other species.

If I attribute the discovery of the
Amazons entirely to chance, I owe the
knowledge I have acquired of the man-
ners and customs of the species now un-
der consideration to observation alone.

In examining, one day, the interior of
their nest, with the view of observing its
arrangement, I noticed Ash-coloured
mingled with the Sanguine Ants ;. they
were, however, much less numerous than
in Legionaryant-hills. ‘Thesame intimacy
appeared to exist between them and the
Sanguine Ants, as between the auxiliaries
and Amazonsin mixed colonies. There
is no difficulty in verifying this remark,
since these ant-hills are more common
than those of the Legionaries; they are
also more within view, the Sanguine
Ants coming to the surface of their nest
more frequently than the mason ants of
any other species. ‘These habitations:

THE SANGUINE ANTS. 331

are, for the most part, situated near
hedges which have a southern aspect.
The earth of which they are composed, is
mixed up with fragments of leaves, stalks
of plants, moss, and little stones, which
form a species of mortar difficult to
break. ‘This composition of the ant-hill,
and its varied form, would have soon
convinced me it was not the sole work
of the Ash-coloured or Negro Ants, even
had I not seen the Sanguine Ants, like
them, occupied in going ont during the
rain, and profiting by it, in giving
greater extent and elevation to their
abode.

The Sanguine then take a share in the
labours of the Negro Ant; they go out
also, at times, in search of pucerons, but
this duty principally devolves upon the
auxiliaries ; and upon them also the office
rests, on their leaving the ant-hill in the |
morning, of re-opening the several doors
that lead to it; for in this species, parti-
cular care is taken to close every evening,
all the avenues, by blocking them up with

332 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF

whatever materials they find proper for
the purpose.

One of the ordinary occupations of the
Sanguine Ants, is the going in chase of
certain little ants, which constitute their
food. ‘They never go out alone; they
assemble in little troops, lie inambuscade
near the ant-hill, wait until some unwary
inhabitant quits it, and then dart forth
and secure their prey. ‘The insects they
meet on their road experience a similar
fate, whenever they fall in their power. ©

In the Sanguine, as in other mixed
ant-hills, we find neither:males nor females
belonging to the auxiliaries. The females
of the Sanguine tribe are conspicuous for
their varied colour ; they have the head
and thorax of a brilliant red, inclining to
scarlet; the abdomen brown, the feet of
a dark red. The males are black, with the
exception of their feet, which are yellow;
they closely resemble the males of the
Ash-coloured Ants, but have a larger
body; they leave their habitation at the
game. time as the females, accompanied,

‘THE SANGUINE ANTS. 333

like those of the Legionary Ants, by a
double cortége. ‘There are so many
points in which these ants agree, that I
was led to suspect they procure the Negro
Ants, much in the same way as the
Legionaries. I watched their movements
from day to day, and was, at length, a
witness to several of their expeditions,
which differ, in many respects, from
those described in the preceding chapter.
The following will convey a just idea of
their tactics.

On the 15th July, at ten in the morn-
ing, a small division of the Sanguine Ants
was dispatched from the garrison, and
arrived in quick march, near a nest of
Negro Ants, situated twenty paces
distant, around which they took their
station. ‘The inhabitants, on perceiving
these strangers, rushed forth in a body to
attack them, and led back several prison-
ers. ‘The Sanguine Ants made no further
advance ; they appeared to be waiting
some reinforcement. From time to time,
little companies of these insects came

3834 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF

from the garrison to strengthen the
brigade. They now advanced a little
nearer, and seemed more willing to run
the risk of a general engagement; but in
proportion as they approached the Negro
dwelling, the more solicitous did they
seem to dispatch couriers to the garri-
son, who arriving in great haste produced
considerable alarm, when another division
was immediately appointed to join the
army. The Sanguine Ants, although
thus reinforced, evinced little or no eager-
ness for combat, and only alarmed the
Ash-coloured Ants by their presence.
The latter took up a position in front of
their nest of about two feet square, where
nearly their whole force was assembled to
await the enemy.

Frequent skirmishes take place all
around the camp, the besieged always
attacking the besiegers. ‘The Negro
Ants, judging from their number, an-.
nounce a vigorous resistance; but dis-
trusting their own strength, they look to
the safety of the little ones confided to

“HE SANGUINE ANTS. ~ 835

their care, and in this respect show us
one of the most singular traits of pru-
dence of which the history of insects can —
furnish an example. Even long before
success is in any way dubious, they bring
the pupz from the subterranean cham-
bers, and heap them up on the side of
their nest, opposed to that where the
Sanguine army is stationed, in order to
carry them off with the greater readiness
should the fate of arms be against them.
Their young females escape on the same
side. ‘The danger becomes more immi-
nent; the Sanguine Ants, sufficiently
reinforced, throw themselves in the midst
of the Negroes, attack them on all points,
and arrive to the very gates of their city.
The latter, after a brisk resistance, re-
nounce its defence, seize upon the pup
deposited on the outside, and convey
them to a place of safety.* The San.

* Is it not surprising that the Ash-coloured, when
attacked by the Sanguine Ant, should follow a
different line of conduct to what they pursue, when
they have any engagement with the Legionaries.

- 86 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF

guine Ants pursue, and endeavour to steal
from them their treasure. The whole
body of Negro Ants are in flight; some
few pass.through the enemy’s rank, and
at the hazard of their lives, enter once
more their habitation, and expeditiously
carry off the larve, that would otherwise
remain devoted to pillage. The Sanguine
Ants descend into the interior, take
possession of the avenues, and appear to
establish themselves in. the devastated
city. Little bands of troops continually
pour in from the garrison, and begin tak-
ing away the remainder of the larve and
pupe, establishing an uninterrupted chain
from one ant-hill to the other: thus the
day passes and night comes on, before
they have transported all their booty. A
considerable number of Sanguine Ants -

The impetuosity of the latter allows them no time
for defence. The tactics of those besieging being
different, those of the besieged will always be so.
But can we form any idea how Nature has taught
them to take precautions proportionate to er’
danger? — A.

15*

HE SANGUINE ANTS. 337

still remain in the Negro residence, and
en the following morning, at break of
day, recommence the transfer of the
rest of its contents. When they have
taken away all the pupe and larve, they
then carry each other to the garrison, a
few only remaining behind.

But I perceive some ants moving in a
different direction; their number in-
creases; a new resolution has doubtless
been taken by these truly warlike insects ;
a considerable recruiting takes place on
the.compound ant-hill, in favour of the
pillaged city : and in this they at length
establish their residence. Every thing is
transported thither with the greatest
promptitude; pupe and larve, males and
females, auxiliariesand Amazons; indeed,
every thing the garrison contains, is re-
moved to the habitation acquired by
conquest; and the Sanguine Ants re-
nounce for ever their natal abode. They
establish themselves on the spot, and in
place of the Negro Ants, and from thence
undertake new incursions.

Q

338 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF

I was a witness to several such scenes,
but shall content myself with describing
ene only. I established a Sanguine com-
pound ant-hill in a glazed apparatus,
such as that described in the preceding
chapter. This I one day placed at a
little distance from a Negro dwelling,
which soon became the object of a regular
siege. After the Sanguine Ants had
driven away its inhabitants, and conveyed
to their glazed habitation or ruche, a
part of the pup, they came to a sud-
den decision of changing their domicile,
and in a few hours removed the whole of
its contents, and established themselves
with their auxiliaries in the enemy’s
habitation. They do not, however,
change their-abode on each invasion of a
Negro. ant-hill; but it is of rare occur-
rence if they quit not in the course of the
year the.one they occupy.

One of the principal features of the
wars levied upon Ash-coloured Ants,
seems to. consist in exciting fear ; and so
effectual does this prove, that the Negro

THE SANGUINE ANTS. 339

Ants on no occasion return to their
besieged capital, even when the oppres-
sors have retired to their own garrison;
they, perhaps, well know they could
never remain long in safety, and would
be continually liable to the attacks of
their unwelcome visitors. This new
species of Amazon, almost invariably
follows the same route; hence, it hap-
pens, that on the least signal, they know
what direction they are to take. They
sometimes go a hundred and fifty paces
distance, in search of a Negro habitation,
and their attacks are always made by
small divisions; which, as before stated,
succeed and assist each other by means
of couriers, evidently sent off for that
purpose to the garrison.

The invasions of the Sanguine Ants,
although so destructive to the peace of
their enemies, are yet, happily, less fre-
quent than those of the Legionaries.
They pillage only five or six ant-hills in
the course of a summer; and the time
appropriated to this object, is much more

Q2

340 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF

limited; for they must, in the period of
one month, bring in all the pupe they
may want. ‘The Sanguine Ants, endow-
ed. with a considerable share of activity,
are content with a much ‘less number of
slaves or domestics than the Rufescent
Ants. The pup, purloined by the
Sanguine Ants, are developed some time
in August: and at that period we find in
their nest a greater number of auxiliaries.
‘The Sanguine Ants could scarcely do
without them; occupied continually in
the chase, and now and then called upon
to go forth in an entire body, to the
assistance of their compatriots, they would
be obliged to leave their little slaves at
home unattended ; moreover, the Negro
Ants are better qualified than they to
take care of the larvae; to them, there-
fore, is entrusted this important duty.
When the Sanguine Ants change their
domicile, they take especial care to con-
vey with them their auxiliaries; for whom,
when their dwelling is attacked by other
ants, they evince the strongest affection.
I have seen the Sanguine, when besieged

THE SANGUINE ANTS. 341

by the Fallow Ants, carry off, in haste, to
the subterranean apartments their auxili-
aries; when the latter, on being left,
seemed to fulfil the intention of their pro-
tectors, by closing and barricading with
care all the avenues, making use of such
materials as were immediately within
reach.

I shall now give an instance of their
prudence and foresight, upon which I
slightly touched in the chapter on war.
In case of disaster, they always take care
to provide a retreat, and whilst one party
is engaged in defending the colony,
another party bear away the Negro Ants
or auxiliaries, who immediately begin
constructing a new dwelling, at a con-
siderable distance from the scene of
combat.

We have noticed, among Rufescent
Ants, two species of auxiliaries — Ash-
coloured and Mining Ants. ‘The latter
are also highly useful to the Sanguine
Ants, who attack their habitations in the
same way, and much under the same cir-

Q 3

342 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF

cumstances as the nests inhabited by
Negro Ants. But what is highly worthy
of remark is, that there should exist ant-
hills composed of three different species:
of ants —the Sanguine, the Ash-colour-.
ed, andthe Mining Ant. This has been
fully confirmed by my having observed
an army of Sanguine Ants form into two
divisions, when the one attacked a Mining
and the other a Negro ant-hill.

I shall now bring these observations to
a close by stating a fact, which fully de-
monstrates the influence of habit upon
the natural disposition of ants. I placed,
in a box, a few pupz of the Sanguine
and. Rufescent Ant, under the guard of
some Ash-coloured labourers. These
pup became adult ants, and although
Amazons, lived together in great amity
under the same roof, thus corroborating
the facts formerly mentioned.

The history of Amazon Ants and their
auxiliaries still proves, that if education
can efface the hatred existing between
different species, and consequently ene-

THE SANGUINE ANTS. 343

mies, it effects no change in their instinct
and character, since the Amazons and
their slaves, brought up with the same
care, and under the management of the
same nurses, live in the mixed ant-hill
under very different laws.

My readers are, perhaps, inclined to
believe, that I have been led aside by a
love of the marvellous, and that, to give
more interest to my narrative, I have
added something, by way of embellish-
ment, tothe faets I have observed. But
the more I am attracted by the wonder-
ful display of nature, the less am I in-
clined to alter it by any melange of the
imagination.

I have endeavoured to cast aside every
illusion, prejudice, or ambition of saying
any thing new, prepossessions in favour of
cursory observations, love of systems,
&c. holding to that disposition, which I
may term neutral ; ready to admit every
fact of whatever nature it be, pro-
vided it be confirmed by close observ-
ation,

Q 4

34:4: HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF

If the facts adduced afford ample
proof that ants are endowed with higher
faculties than we have hitherto granted
them, we must attribute it to the subject
itself; hence the necessity under which
I have laboured, of employing many
terms and comparisons, that, on a first
glance, appear rather bold, although
founded on the close connection between
the human race and the insect mihi 5 in
society.

Among those I have taken to: witness
the discovery of mixed or compound ant-
hills, I may mention the learned pro-
fessor Jurine.* This gentleman had the
kindness to identify their existence, by
examining, separately their contents.

To this honourable testimony I shall
add but one more—Nature herself! who
is ready to answer every doubt, every ob-
jection ; it is easy to intorrogate her: I

* This celebrated naturalist, who resided at
Geneva, has within these few weeks breathed his
last. His writings, together with his splendid cabi-
net of insects, furnish-ample proof of his talents
and industry. — T.

THE SANGUINE ANTS, 345

have put my reader in the way, by de-
scribing my means of observation, and |
dare assure naturalists, who will deliver
themselves over to this study, they will
meet a full recompense for the trouble
and time they devote to it by the inex-
haustible pleasure of discovering new
truths.

346

CHAP. XII.

OBSERVATIONS ON THOSE INSECTS THAT
LIVE IN REPUBLICS.

Aurnover we have yet much to learn
respecting the manners and habits of
insects; we may still, I think, from the
observations which have been brought
together, attempt their distribution ac-
cording to the developement of their
instinct, so as to be enabled to rectify
mistakes, when subsequent discoveries
shall have adduced fresh information.
This classification does not exactly
answer to the chain in which Bonnet
has ranged all living beings, by tracing
resemblances between their organiza-
tion: still less does it correspond with

INSECTS THAT LIVE IN REPUBLICS. 347

those systematic divisions, established by
distinguished naturalists; it, however,
serves to show us the true plan of nature,
in proving, that she is not always subject
to that material order which strikes our
senses; that she has varied ad infinitum
her combinations; and that there are
general rules founded upon moral cha-
racters, divisions and subdivisions in the
intellectual, as well as in the physical
part of creation, which, I hope, one day,
fully to demonstrate. I shall detach from
this plan only a few opinions, having
reference to those insects which live in
society; they form a separate class, of
which we have not yet well ascertained
the nature and the relation. Pre-emi-
nence, if such exists between these
republics, cannot be determined, until
we have compared with much care and
attention, the spirit, labours, character,
and laws of each. -

To assign as nearly as possible, the
place they occupy in the class of insects,
let us set aside those animals, whose size,

Q 6

348 INSECTS THAT LIVE

strength, usefulness, and even ferocity,
impose upon our judgment ; let us sup-
pose for a moment, that man himself did
not exist, and let us see what part these
different colonies would then act upon
this globe, (whose members are associated
for one common interest, ) in the midst of
that crowd of isolated beings, which dis-
play only a limited instinct, having habi-
tudes rather than manners, subjected to
rules rather than laws, and unconscious
of either country or family.

In the first rank would appear those
societies of industrious flies, which are
established in hollow trees, and in the
crevices of our rocks: they feed upon
the nectar of flowers, and secrete honey
and wax; they never employ their arms
but to defend their country, the treasures
they have accumulated, and the young
they are rearing; the outside of their
habitation presents nothing grand or
imposing, but the interior is formed upon
a regular plan, uniting elegant proportions
with the most rigid ceconomy.

IN REPUBLICS. 349

That family whose colouring is more
brilliant, lives by carnage and rapine: its
empire extends over every insect it can
pierce with its sting, and every kind of
fruit that its teeth enable it to pene-
trate; its dwelling, like to a balloon,
is sometimes suspended in the air, from
the branches of a tree; at another time,
resembles a fortress, of which nothing
indicates the existence without, hidden
in the earth, and tenanted by a highly
dreaded race.

At length come those colonies which
cover the surface of the earth, and whose
republics are so numerous, that the globe
would not suffice them, had not Nature
set just limits to their production. A
multitude of insects become their prey.
The small size of the individuals is
compensated by their number ; but force
is not their principal reliance. Neither
the flowers nor fruits furnish them with
their ordinary food; this is the object of
a taste more refined. ‘The colonies of
which we are nowspeaking, go and collect

350° INSECTS THAT LIVE

it from certain pacific beings, which live in
societies, and bestow upon them, uncon-
strained, the juices they extract from
plants. These colonies possess the art
of making themselves understood, of
assembling these insects in their habita-
tion, and of defending them against the
attacks of their enemies.

Those insects which live in republics,
yield doubtless to many others in size,
strength, and swiftness. Nature, in a
lower: degree, produces’ its’ monsters :
the spider, dung-chafer,. rove-beetle, -
scorpion, like so many ferocious beasts;
retired to their covert, await the passage
of flies, worms, butterflies, caterpillars, -
which they attack and destroy, expe+
riencing no kind of resistance. Our
astonishment is again excited at the
gigantic proportions of those dung and
stag-beetles, whose peaceable dispositions
strongly contrast with the arms with
which they are provided. Here the
diversity of the production arrests our
attention; this insect lives in corrupted

IN REPUBLICS. 351

matter, that insect dwells on the body of
another animal; these have but an ephe-
meral existence, those pass their life in
idleness, flitting by thousands from flower
to flower, without being conscious either
of an habitation or a single relation,
Shall we compare to insects, organisedina
republic, those processionary caterpillars,
whose sole talent consists in their know--
ing how to spin, in common, a web,-
in which they undergo their transform.
ation, and in their leaving behind them in
their march, threads which serve to guide
their companions, or those swarms of
crane-flies, collected in the air, by the sole
attraction of the sexes, or those myriads
of ephemere, which have but one day,
one hour, to quit the waters, congregate,
and die? Or shall we place in the same
rank those clouds of locusts, without
laws, without police, whose assembling
appears to have no other object than the
devastation of the countries they traverse,
and those regular societies that know
how to establish a common abode, adapt-

852 INSECT THAT LIVE

ed to the rearing of their young, and
their own safety? If these wandering
insects inspire us with any interest, it
cannot be by placing at their side objects,
whose comparison would. be disadvan-
tageous to them ;_ let us, therefore, return
to the parallel of those, whose manners
and habits announce a.certain degree of
civilization.

Can we sufficiently admire the skill
the bee displays in the distribution of
that ductile substance, with which it
constructs its combs, in forming that
double rank of hexagonal cells with
pyramidal bottoms, (the base of which
serves as-a partition for three other cells, )
those parallel streets, and those maga-
zines, which it fills with provision for the
winter, &c.? This is the insect which
amasses real provision, inclosing it and
guarding it with care. *

* We have, at all times, admired the structure of
the combs of bees: the angles of the cells have
been measured by skilful geometricians ; but we are
yet ignorant of the manner in which these industri-

IN REPUBLICS. 3583

The wasp, by a particular art, is ena-
bled to avail itself of the oldest and
driest wood, in the formation of a sub-
stance similar to the finest pasteboard,
with which it fabricates its nest: the
cells which it constructs, are placed hori+
zontally, suspended from each other: less
skilful than the bee in measuring the
angles of these cells, it does not form
them in double rank, although the sub-
stance it employs is of much less value.
It envelopes these cells in a common
covering, which it can enlarge commen-
surate with its wants. By means of a
juice or liquid, that proceeds from its
mouth, it is enabled to unite and glue

ous insects.construct them.. My father, after assi.
duous researches, has at length discovered the
secret of their architecture, and will, ere long,
present to the public a very extensive memoir upon
this subject. — A. I need scarcely add, that this
memoir has been since published, and contains
much interesting information on the subject ; indeed,
it is very generally known in this country, and merits
the highest commendation, — T,

B54 INSECTS THAT LIVE

together the several particles of which
its habitation is composed.

The nests of humble-bees present dif-
ferent appearances: here, we find these
insects dwelling under a roof of moss;
there, under a vault of wax. Their provi-
sions are not collected to any extent, and
are so exposed, that any may go and
obtain refreshment when they like ; but
what is singular, the cells which contain
their honey, have not been fabricated
expressly for this purpose; the webs
which they spin, in the first state of their
existence, serves for this new use, and
the coarse wax they elaborate, is em-
ployed in narrowing or lengthening these
reservoirs, in constructing new cells for
their young, and in forming an envelope
which preserves the nest from humidity.

Let us now approach that hillock of
straw, which we olserve in the midst of
the forest; under that inclined roof, a
numerous republic finds an asylum against
the injuries of the air. By a well-regu-
lated police, the gates are closed during

IN REPUBLICS. 8585

the night, and guarded through the day ;
several avenues lead to the bottom of
this subterraneous city; it is found to
contain numerous stories, both above and
underneath the surface of the ground,
and is so constructed that the water can
never gain admittance.

Farther off, I observe a crowd of
masons (ants) occupied in raising a
building of immense size for insects so
diminutive; they neither employ in its
construction, like the bee, a valuable
material which they have themselves
formed, nor a light and thin substance
resembling the finest pasteboard, such as
that the wasp uses in the formation of its
nest; its mortar is already prepared, the
earth, rain-water, and the benefit of the
sun, is all that is required in their masonry.
The foundations of a new story are laid,
walls are raised, ceilings are constructed,
and their abode is arranged, with a view
rather to convenience than regularity.

Here I observe, proceed from the trunk
of a tree, a file of ants; they have hewn

356 INSECTS THAT LIVE

out in the solid wood vast chambers, a
multitude of lodges and stories, corridors
and colonnades, to which the air has free
access.

On removing to another country, I
observe a certain species of ant, availing
itself of the down of a cotton-plant to
shelter, more warmly and commodiously,
the little ones confided to its care: No
insect, indeed, presents such a variety in |
their dwellings ; a particular talent seems.
to be displayed in the labours of each,
indicating to them the nature and use of
the several substances within reach.

Let us pass from their architecture to
the cares they bestow upon the rising
generation. What a contrast is there
not afforded between the social insects,
and those that lead a solitary existence ;
the latter are, for the most part, unac-
quainted with their family; they provide
for their necessities, establish their dwel-
ling, but' very few will see the egg to
which they give birth. This affixes its
eggs around a.branch; that trusts them

bbe

IN REPUBLICS. 357

to a fragile leaf; another abandons them
to the current of the waters: some place
them in the sand, like the ostrich, leaving
them to be brought to perfection by the
heat of the sun; others, the isolated
mothers, prepare themselves (before lay-
ing) the food for the larva which will
proceed from their eggs; some, furnished
with an instrument for this purpose,
deposit them in the body of a living fly,
in the larve of other insects, or in the
skin itself of the larger animals; others,
by means of a double saw, lodge them in
the bark of trees. These form subterra-
neous caverns, in which they arrange
caterpillars near their offspring, who, on
quitting the egg, find the food they
require ; Others form a chamber in the
earth, which they adorn with rose and
poppy-leaves: they prepare for the
nourishment of their young a paste, com-
posed of honey and the pollen of plants;
they deposit their eggs; their task is
finished; they die.

The greater number of solitary insects,

358 INSECTS THAT LIVE

guided by a blind instinct, assure them-
selves of the existence of the succeed-
ing generation, but they do not live suf-
ficiently long to see the developement
of their young; we cannot, therefore,
refer their conduct to motives of affec-
tion.

Those insects which live in society
are devoted to the care of their family ;
there reigns between them an intimate
bond of union, from which result rela-
tions that cannot exist among the former.
What an interesting scene is there not
offered to us on viewing this hive of
bees, that nest of humble-bees, those
wasps, and, particularly, these ants. I
see the humble-bee prepare a cell for its
young, which it partly fills with the food
necessary for their preservation, under a
fear, perhaps, of not being able, alone, to
satisfy their wants: if their provisions
are exhausted, the mother nourishes
them herself’; she visits the flowers, and
then returns to her nest, bestowing upon
the larva which are disclosed the most

IN REPUBLICS. 359

assiduous attention: she enlarges their
cell, and watches over their safety, until
they become themselves real workers,
capable of assisting her in taking care of -
those to whom she is about to give birth.
A society is established between the
mother and her young: each day the
circle of her relations is extended, and
the union is rendered more perfect.

Among bees, properly so called, an
innumerable crowd of workers are pro-
duced from a single mother. If, how-
ever, maternal feelings and the delights
of love are denied them, they do not the
less evince their affection and solicitude
for the young of their common mother ;
they nourish them, and defend them
with a zeal and disinterestedness truly
praiseworthy.

The ants carry still further this de-
votedness for their charge: they take
care of and nurture them, even in the
state of eggs, and give them mouth-pro-
vision in that of larvae: when the latter
are become pupe, they procure for them

860 INSECTS THAT LIVE

an agreeable temperature, and when they
are ready to undergo their transforms
ation, these are the common parents,
who extricate them from their cocoons,
taking care of them until they are in a
condition to fly, or discharge the duties-
to which they are respectively called.

In consequence of these attentions to
them in their infancy, there arises a re-
ciprocal affection between these insects.
Hence the nature of the society which we
observe among them. Thus what prin-
cipally distinguishes them from those
insects which live in solitude, is the at-
tention they bestow upon the educa-
tion of their young.

But what a prodigy is that in nature,
of being able to receive advantage from
sterility itself, to ensure the preserva-
tion of the species; of inspiring the
‘labourers with unbounded affection for
the offspring of another mother, and
confiding to them the charge of their
education. ‘The mother, too fecund to
crear, unassisted, all her young, finds in

IN REPUBLICS, 861

her society, a number of assistants, who
take upon themselves the several la-
bours: these are endowed with the
highest degree of industry, activity, zeal,
and courage: fecundity alone is denied
them.

In what rests the secret of this or-
ganisation, incomplete as to sex, perfect
as to industry? Admirable combination
of an incomprehensible nature! It has
been fully proved, that bees can, in time
of need, elect a queen from among the
youngest larve; that the education,
nourishment, and size of the cell destined
for her, give rise to her being endowed
with amazing fecundity, devoted to a
state of repose, and receiving the
homages of a numerous republic. Had
it, however, been reared, like the other
larvee, it would have participated in the
labours and dangers which fall to the lot
of the workers. Can we conceive how
means so simple should produce such
powerful effects ?

From such an institution arise those

R

362 INSECTS THAT LIVE

intimate and mutual relations, those
assiduities which the education of the
young requires, that assemblage of la-
bours, that love for the country, that
language, &c. we so much admire in
these colonies. Every where else, each
female lives separately. The only rela-
tions between solitary insects are occa-
sioned by difference of sex ; but, regard-
ing those who live in society, we observe,
a family more or less numerous, more or
less powerful; all the members of
which, of whatever order they be,
understand each other, and yield mutual
assistance; living, in common, upon the
provision the workers bring in. This
constitution is one of the wonders of
nature; thus has she been pleased to
establish several kinds of republics upon
the same principle.

Among bees and ants, a multitude of
workers are born each year; but in these
republics there are but a small num-
ber of females. Let us now attend to
those astonishing circumstances with

IN REPUBLICS. 363

which their impregnation is accompa-
nied.

The mystery of the fecundation of the
queen bee, has, from time immemorial,
excited the attention of naturalists; it
has, therefore, been the subject of the
most profound researches; their re-
spective authors passing from error to
error, from conjecture to conjecture,
came to doubt of the queen’s having
sexual intercourse with the male. It was
reserved for a mind eminently endowed.
with all those qualities which constitute
the philosopher and naturalist, that pe-
netration, that logic, that extension of
thought, so uncommon, of interrogating
nature by the organ of another *, of,
at length, decyphering those lines of

* I rather think the author here alludes to the
distressing state of his father, who has, for many
years, laboured under the greatest of bodily pri-
vations — loss of sight. His ardour in the investi-
gation of his favourite subject, suffered no diminu-
tion. A faithful domestic attended, and gave him
information of what was passing in the interior of
his glass-hives. — T.

R 2

364 INSECTS THAT LAIVE

the great book, which contain the sur-
prising phenomenon, of which bees offer
the only example.

. At this period we observe a vast num-
ber of males in the hives ; they quit them
in a large body, and disperse. The
young queen alone, without followers,
leaves her abode, goes forth to be im-
pregnated in the air, and returns to her
numerous family, bringing back not only
titles to the consideration of her subjects,
but the indisputable proof, that the fa-
voured male has lost his life in perform-
ing this last duty. A thousand curious
circumstances attend this brilliant dis-
covery.

__. Shall we at present speak of the combat

of the queens; of their imprisonment ; of
the expulsion of the supernumeraries? Let
us rather leave to the reader the pleasure
of learning these astonishing truths in the
original, and let us see what passes, under
the same circumstances, with ants. In
this instance, the males and females are
distinguished from the unprolific race,

as

IN REPUBLICS. 365

by the faculty of flying. When.the day
of their departure arrives, they quit the
nest in a crowd, accompanied by a nu-
merous retinue of workers, who cannot
follow them to any distance. ‘They take
flight, complete their junction in the
midst of the swarms they form in the air,
and never return to their original abode.
The males ina short time perish ; for they
know not how to provide for their neces-
sities; but the females are destined to
extend the republics of their species ;
they are, therefore, under the necessity
of going and establishing the founda-
tions of them alone, and unassisted.
One would be inclined to believe that
the wings, with which they are provided,
would be of advantage to them in their
labours; but Supreme Intelligence has or-
dered it otherwise; for as soon as they are
impregnated, they renounce that prero-
gative, which no longer agrees with their
new condition, and tear away of their own
accord, and with effect, those members
which appear to us a gift from Heaven
Rr 8

366 INSECTS THAT LIVE

For what purpose has Nature required
from them this sacrifice ? Did she wish,
in this way, to render them more se-
dentary? Or was it not rather in order
to prevent their return to the natal ant-
hill? ‘This latter conjecture seems to
me the most plausible. What would
have happened did they possess the
power of returning to their original fa-
mily ? That the ant-hills would not have
been scattered, that they would have
constituted but one immense babitation,
which would soon have exhausted the
resources of its neighbourhood. This
inconvenience would have existed with
bees, who do not reject their wings, had
not that wisdom which regulates the
universe, guarded against it, by inspiring
the queens with mutual aversion and in-
surmountable dread of each other; so
much so, that the oldest quits her abode,
and leads off with her a part of her sub-
jects, to found a new colony.

Humble-bees and wasps have not the
power of re-assembling for the purpose of

=

IN REPUBLICS. 367

forming one entire: colony. Nature,
without depriving them of the use of
their wings, guards against their abuse
by dissolving every year their re-
publics.

What admirable variety in her pro-
ductions, and in her laws! What re-
sources! With what care does she avoid
repetition! It appears, that every pos-
sible combination exists at the same time.
There, the republics are permanent ;
here, they are renewed every year. One
of these nations sends off, each year, se-
veral colonies, and the numerous swarms
go to tenant the woods and rocks; the
other never divides; it rests entire; al-
lowing the departure of only a few in-
dividuals, who go forth, separately, to
found new societies. It was not suffici-
ent to multiply these societies#it was
still necessary to provide for their dura-
tion. These, then, are the means em-
ployed to sustain their population, from
age to age. In the case of bees, one
single female reigns over a numerous co-

R 4

868. INSECTS THAT LIVE

lony; her size, and especially her re-
markable fecundity, secure her the hom-
age of her subjects. She keeps up the po-
pulation of the hive, and suffers none to dis-
pute her authority. However, at the pe-
riod when she gives birth to males, the
bees, who are aware, perhaps, that she
bears also the germs of females, prepare
royal cells: in these she deposits her eggs;
and the larve, when disclosed, become
queens. The mother does not regard,
without aversion, these individuals, who
may contend with her for pre-eminence :
she endeavours to destroy the objects of
her anger; but the workers prevent her
reaching those cells which contain their
forthcoming chiefs. ‘The queen, agitat-
ed with the fear of seeing them quit their
cells, abandons the hive, accompanied
by a mumerous colony, leaving behind
her several females destined to be her
successors, who, after having disputed
the empire, or induced one part of the
inhabitants to desert with them, resign
to one of their rivals, the sovereignty, or,

IN REPUBLICS. 369

at least, the right of depositing her eggs
alone, in the hive which witnessed their
birth.

A constitution, widely different, ob-
tains with ants: several females equally
divide the important functions of pro-
creation ; they do not evince that hatred,
nor do we perceive any of that jealousy,
of which we have an example in bees ;
they also receive, in common, the ho-
mages of the other casts. When the
young females depart, for the purpose of
founding new states, the inhabitants of
each ‘city, endowed with admirable
prudence, retain some few to supply
the place of those about to terminate
their career. It is thus the popula-
tion of each republic is sustained and in-
creased..

The terms of Queens, of Subjects, of
Constitution, of Republics, must not be
taken according to the strict letter. The
unity or plurality of females presents
but a poor image of our different forms
of governments: in truth, each of these

Ro

370 INSECTS THAT LIVE

orders follows the laws of its own instinct,
without being conscious of any subor-
dination; it, notwithstanding, happens,
that some few possess over the rest a cer-
tain degree of influence, independent of
any authority, properly so called.

The Termites, inhabitants of southern
climates, also effect their union in the
air, fall upon the ground, and lose, as
we are informed, their wings. But who
can teach us the secrets of their astonish-
ing society? why nature has produced
amongst them four sorts of individuals ?
— one single mother, who, when preg-
nant, becomes a hundred times more
bulky than at first; winged males;
apterous neuters, appointed to the house-
‘hold management, and the construction
of their gigantic edifice; and others,
instructed only in the arts of war.
Reaumur, De Geer, Bonnet, &c. found
without going any distance, subjects
worthy of exciting their attention. All
our riches in this department have not
been yet explored. ‘The wars of bees,

IN REPUBLICS. 371

already sung by a great poet, * would
furnish their historian with a rich and
brilliant subject. Hitherto, we have not
been enabled to compare those in which
ants engage, to those of any other species
of animals.

If it be true, that war is one of the
consequences of social order, what shall
we be induced to think, on perceiving
regular armies issuing from the gates
of two rival cities, and going to the ren-
contre upon an eminence, where battle is
given, and where equal courage and car-
nage are displayed on each side? What
shall we say of those bodies of troops,
who only wait the signal of danger, to
come to the assistance of the advanced
guard? of those champions, which
struggle in pairs? of those chains of
wrestlers, who balance their strength, and
seize the favourable moment to destroy
the equilibrium ? of those prisoners led

* Vide Virgil's Georgics; 4th Canto. These
combats have been described with great accuracy
by the poet. — A,

rR 6

372 INSECTS THAT LivE

away to the enemy’s camp, &c.? Is not
this a strong image of our serious
quarrels ?

But how strikingly does it contrast
with our manners, that the arms, courage,
military skill, should, in these republics,
rest with the female sex * ; whilst feeble-
ness, idleness, and exile, fall to the lot of
the males. Those of bees, still worse
treated, are put to death, as soon as they
have fulfilled their only functions. . With
wasps and humble-bees, they are also des-
titute of arms, and show no industry ; but
they are not the object of the fury of the
workers: the severity of the winter, as
they know not, like the females, how to
shelter themselves, produces, generally
speaking, their death. By what art are
the workers charged with the defence of
the republic, enabled to reconnoitre,
understand, assist, and succour each

~

* It must be remembered that the workers are
not neuters, but females, whose moral, if I may use
this expression, has been developed at the expens2
oftheir physical condition. — A.

IN REPUBLICS. 378

other? The subtlety of their senses, or
rather that unbounded affection which
exists between them teaches them to dis-
tinguish, in their contests, their compa-
nions from their enemies: a language,
significant and extremely rapid, informs
them of the danger of their companions,
or the success of their enterprise. This
language is the bond of that union, you
remark in this numerous family ; it is
not by sounds, or visible signs, but by
contact alone, that it is manifested, more
particularly by the antenna, those organs
which distinguish insects from all other
living beings: these serve, in those
species collected in. societies, the noble
purpose of communicating, from one in
dividual to another, the impressions,
situation, and necessities of each: the
antennal language is, without doubt, im-
perfect, if we compare it with our wants,
but amply suffices for those of ants.
Bees also make use of signs, although
they are no strangers to sounds. When
the queen wishes to lead away some part

374 INSECTS THAT LIVE

of the metropolis, to found a new city,
she passes from rank to rank, striking
and exciting each worker she meets, to
accompany her: the movement is, at
length, general through the whole hive,
and the swarm rush into the open air.

Should any strange animal, or insect, .
attempt to enter their abode, the alarm
is in an instant given, and a thousand
lives are ready to be sacrificed ; but when —
their queen, as yet a prisoner, emits a
shrill, piercing cry, a general stupor im- -
mediately pervades the whole of the
bees, they all incline their head,.and seem -
as if paralysed.

Waspsare alsoacquainted with themode
of imparting information to their com-
panions, When a single wasp discovers
a strong-hold of sugar, honey, or other
article of food, it returns to its nest, and
brings off, in a short time, a hundred
other wasps; but we are yet ignorant,
if it be by visible, or palpable signs, they
are mutually informed of this discovery.

It was in the nature of things, that all

IN REPUBLICS. 375°

those beings living in society, should
have a language ; but ants, who appear,
in several respects, to merit the pre-emi-
nence over other insects, extend this
faculty even to the pucerons, from whom
they obtain their nourishment. ‘The art,
still more surprising, of rendering them
domestic, has nothing analagous in the
other republics of which we have spoken :
this prerogative appears to touch upon
the domain of man. But the Author of
all things has limited the power of these
petty republics, in not permitting them
to make use of other arms than those
with which they are naturally provided ;
the inventive faculties have been denied
them, notwithstanding we have witnessed
a few traits, which seem to announce
some species of combination. Their
wants and their means have been calcu-
lated beforehand, so that their instinct
is not susceptible of being brought to
higher perfection.

In the number of those magnificent
views of creation, which it is permitted

376 INSECTS THAT LIVE
q

us to observe, we perceive man, so placed
in the general scale, that under the
guidance of his own genius, and proud,
perhaps, of his brilliant . faculties, he
does not see any of those minute. chains
by which he issurrounded. If delivered
over, in some degree, to himself, he some-
times meets in his institutions, and. in his
arts, with the laws and: proceedings
nature has dictated to animals; it amounts
to a certain proof of his relation with
disposing Intelligence : the works of the
latter, however, bear the impress of In-
finite Wisdom; and the conceptions of
man, the seal of imperfection. In re-
garding those colonies, which exist at
our very feet, and where so much har-
mony and order prevail, I think, I per-
ceive the Author of nature, tracing with
his all-powerful hand, the laws of a re-
public exempt from abuse, or framing the
model of those compound societies,
where servitude is allied to a common
interest.

The. Author of nature has so willed it,

IN REPUBLICS. 3772

that certain ants should associate in their
labours other workers of an industrious
species, upon whom is to devolve the
- office of rearing their young, and pro-
viding their subsistence; whilst they
themselves, abandoned to warlike enter-
prise, and passing from a state of combat
to one of ease, are to enjoy the industry
and share the affection and attention of
these strange ants. This institution,
wisely combined, fulfils every desirable
condition. ‘The slaves of the Amazons,
carried away in their infancy, perceiving
no change in their country, attach them-
selves to their captors, display their usual
natural activity, and, unacquainted with
forced labours, and subject to no kind of
oppression, have even, as we have seen,
a sufficiently extensive authority in the
city which has adopted them.

This great trait, in which is displayed
unbounded wisdom, in calling to our
mind the abuses to which a similar in-
stitution is subject, among several civi-
lised nations, induces us to admire the
mildness of those laws, by which Provi-

$78 INSECTS IN REPUBLICS.

dence rules these colonies, of which, she
has reserved to herself the entire direc-
tion; and shows us, that, in delivering
man to his own guidance, she has sub-
jected him to a great and heavy respon-
sibility. If natural history had only
served to prove this truth, it would have
attained the most dignified end of which
the sciences may boast — that of endea-
vouring to ameliorate the human species;.
by the examples it lays before us.

APPENDIX.

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a ae iia hs. gla ae ‘Sadi 8), a
et oo Ah pation be Aled ing

381

NOTES

RELATIVE TO THE SPECIES.

‘Tue manners and habits of ants are so
extremely varied, that it is necessary to know,
to what species we must refer each trait of
their industry, — each particular of their his-
tory.

With the view of distinguishing them more
particularly, I have transcribed several descrip-
tions from Latreille; some extracted from his
Essay, upon the History of the Ants of France,
“ E’ssaz sur ? Histoire des Fourmis dela France ;”
others, from his Natural History of Ants,
‘‘ Histoire Naturelle des Fourmis.”

[{ feel proud in being able to add to this
work the observations of my esteemed friend
and fellow citizen, Professor Jurine, so well
known to Naturalists, by his Memoirs upon
Insects, ‘* Methode nowvelle de classer les In-
sectes,” &c. and by his fine collection,

382 APPENDIX.

Not relying on my. own judgment for a
classification of ants, I begged this gentleman
would have the kindness to describe several
species, hitherto undescribed, concerning which
it was necessary, more particularly, to know the
characters.

To these descriptions I shall add a few
xemarks, which my experience has suggested.

a

‘383

DESCRIPTION
OF

THE SEVERAL ANTS

MENTIONED IN THESE RESEARCHES.

Tue HercuLtean ANT.
(F. Herculanea, Linn.)

W.*— Black. Thorax, base of the abdomen,
thighs of a blood-red. Length, five to six
lines.

F.— Black. Sides of the thorax, scale, base of
the abdomen of a bay-red. Superior wings,
entirely of a smoky black.

M.— Very black. Superior wings, smoky
black. Scale, thick, emarginate. Tarsi
and knees ferruginous.

LATREILLE, Essai sur Hist. des
Fourmis de la France.

* The Males, Females, and Workers, are here designated
by their initial letters.

384 APPENDIX.

THe Erniopran Ant.
(F. Nigra.)

W.— Elongate, very black, shining. Man-
dibles and legs of a blackish brown.
Abdomen hairy. Length, three to five
lines.

F. — Very black, shining. Mandibles and legs
of a blackish brown. ‘Scale, nearly cordi-
form. Abdomen, short, oval, hairy. Wings
white, a marginal point in the superior.

M. — Very black. Scale, truncate, emarginate. _
Abdomen pubescent. Wings white, a mar-
ginal point in the superior.

LatreILue, Essai, &e.

Obs. Both these species inhabit hollaw trees,
where they form shapeless grooves, or furrows ;
they also make use of the worm-holes in the ‘wood.

Tue Furicinous Ant.
(F. Fuliginosa, Lat.)

W.— Short, very black, shining. Antenne,
at their geniculation, knees and tarsi of
a testaceous brown. Head, large, emar-
ginate posteriorly. Scale, small. Abdo-

APPENDIX. 385

men, globose. Length, one line three-
quarters.

F,— Very black, short. Mandibles, antenna,
and feet, rufescent. Wings and scale, as in
the male.

M.— In celour like the worker. Scale entire,
nearly oval. Superior wings, obscure at

their base.
LaTREILLE, 7bid.

Obs. This species constructs admirable labyrinths
in trees.

Tue Brown Ant,
(F. Brunnea.)

W. + Deeply ferruginous. yes, summit of
the head, and abdomen blackish. Scale,
quadrate, almost bidentate. Length, one
line two-fifths.

¥,— Brown, blackish. Mandibles, antenna,
and feet, ferruginous. Scale, bidentate.
Abdomen, large. Wings, long, some ob-
scure neryures upon the base of the supe-

rior.
LATREILLE.

886 APPENDIX.

M. — Size of the worker, of a blackish colour,
passing to brown. Wings extremely dia-
phanous; their nervures scarcely visible;
their point slightly yellowish. Scale, quad-
rate, almost bidentate.

JURINE.

Obs. This is the most skilful of the indigenous
Mason Ants.

Tue YELLow ANT,
(E. Flava, Lat.)

W.—Ofa reddish yellow. Eyes, black. Scale,
small, nearly quadrate, entire. Body,
slightly pubescent. Length, one line three-
fifths.

oan Testaceous, obscure (deep reddish brown),
relucent. Antenne and feet, pallid. Scale,
emarginate, quadrate, hairy. Abdomen,
large; margin of the rings yellowish, more
shining. Superior wings, slightly obscure
at their base.

M. — Blackish, shining. Antenne and (feel,
pallid. Scale, slightly emarginate. Abdo-
men, feebly tomentose. lings, trans-
parent.

LATREILLE.

APPENDIX. 387

Obs. This species constructs hillocks of
earth, *

Tue Fattow Ant, (black back,)
(F. Rufa, Linn.)

W.— Of a fallow red, smooth. Antenna, pos-
terior part of the Head, back of the ¢horaz,
superior margin of the scale, and abdomen,
black. Three small ocelli. Scale, nearly
oval. Length, three lines.

F.— Colour of the worker. Scale, entire. -Ad-
domen, short, swoln, red at its base. Supe-
rior wings, smoky black.

* I shall here add an observation, which I omitted to insert
in the chapter on Architecture, which was communicated to me
by the inhabitants of the Alps.

Those little Yellow Ants, that are in possession of the
pucerons or aphides, serve the purpose of a compass to the
Mountaineers, when they are enshrouded in thick fogs, or have
lost their way during the night. Their habitations, which are
more common, and more elevated in mountains than elsewhere,
take an oblong and almost regular shape. They lie in a
direction east and west. Their summit, and the greatest slope,
always faces the east: but they incline also on the opposite
side. I have verified, upon thousands of these ant-hills, this
observation of the shepherds. I found a trifling number of
exceptions ; but only in those instances, where these hillocks
had been deranged by men, or other animals. They do not
preserve this form in the plains, where they are more exposed
to such accidents. — A.

s 2

388 APPENDIX.

M. — Of an unpolished black. Extremity of
the abdomen and feet, fallow. Scale, thiek,
truncate. Exterior margin of the superior
wings, blackish.

LatREILLE, Essai, §c.
I thought it proper to make of the Fallow

Ants two species, as they are distinguished from

each other by very remarkable characters, and by

a. difference in their habitations ; some being in-

Jinitely larger than others: the former, are situat-
ed in forests; the latter, alongside hedges and
meadows. To the second species, I shall give the
name of the Fallow Ant with the red back,

(Fourmi fauve, dos rouge) which dwells by pre~

ferences on the woods.

THe Fattow Ant, patie back, )
(F. Rufa, Linn.)

W.— Of a blood-red. Upper part of the
head, eyes, antenne, abdomen, and feet,
blackish. Scale, slightly emarginate.

F, — Of a blood-red. Upper part of the head,
eyes, antenna, superior thoracic plate, and
abdomen, blackish. Scale thick, oval,
entire. Wings very smoky at their base.
The first segments of the abdomen cats a
slightly reddish tint.

_APPENDIX. 889

M. — Black. Last. segment of the abdomen
testaceous. Leet, reddish. Thighs, slightly
blackened at their base. Wings, slightly

smoky.
JURINE.

It appears to me, that M. Latreille has de-
scribed an individual of this species, or, if you
please, variety, in his History of Ants, His-
toire des Fourmis,” whilst speaking of the female.
A very remarkable difference between them, is,
that the rings of the female of this latter species
have infinitely more lustre than those of the
Sormer. The fallow colour is also more bright.
The denominations of dos noir and dos rouge
have been given from the colour of the worker.

Tue Rep Ant,

(Myrmica Rubra, Lat.)
(Formica Rubra, Linn.)

W. — Reddish, slightly shagreened. Thora,
armed with two points, traversing the first
knot. Upper part of the abdomen, blackish.
Length, two lines and a half.

I’, — A little larger than, and closely resemb-
ling, the worker. Summit of the /cad,
some lines upon the back of the thoraz,

s 3

890 APPENDIX.

base of the superior wings, upper part of
the abdomen, blackish. Spines moderate.
M.— As large as the worker. Head and
thorax, black, slightly shagreened. Mouth,
base of the antennae, knots; abdomen, feet,
for the most part piceous. Rest of the
rings and tarsi, obscurely testaceous.
Spines of the thorax, short. Wings,
blackish at their base. eet, hairy.
LATREILLE, Essai, &c.

This species constructs its nest in the earth, or
in trees. It emits a very pungent odour, and
lives by rapine.

THe Torr Ant,
(F. Cespitum, L.)

W. — Ofa blackish brown. Antenna, thorax
sometimes feet, of a lighter colour. Thorax,
entirely shagreened. Spines short. ‘Two
tubercles at the insertion of the abdomen :
the latter shining.

‘F, — Black, brown, hairy. Antenne at their
geniculation, (fect, testaceous, obscure.
Thighs and legs, a shade deeper. Spines,
short. Wings, white, marginal point
slightly marked. Abdomen, shining.

M. — Black, brown, nearly bare. Antenne
and feet, palish yellow. Head, rounded
‘posteriorly. Back part of the ¢horaz, ob-

APPENDIX. 391

tuse. Wings, white, without any point.
Abdomen, shining, feet, elongate.
LArTRreIL_e.
This ant constructs its nest, sometimes, in the
grass, sometimes on the naked ground, sometimes
in the sand.

Tue Dark AsH-coLourEp Ant,
(. Fusca, Linn.)

W. — Of a shining dark ash-colour. Base of
the Antenne, and feet, reddish. Scale, large,
nearly triangular. Three small ocelli. ®

In shape it resembles the Fallow-Ant.
The body is black, of a slight ash-colour,
shining, nearly smooth, and elongate.
The first joints of the antenne, and the
two or three following joints, are of a deep

s reddish colour. The fore-part of the
head iscarinated. The three small ocelli
are visible.

The scale is large, between an oval and
triangular form. The middle of the su-
perior margin is slightly elevated, slightly
concave. The abdomen is nearly globular,
feebly covered with hair at the extremity.
The feet are of a deep reddish colour, with
the base of the thighs, of an obscure brown.
Vide Pl. II. fig. 9.

* I give a more extended description of the Auxiliary and
Amazon Ants, on accouat of the importance of the subject, — A.

392 APPENDIX.

F, — Of a shining black: by reflection slightly
bronzed. The first joint of the antenne is
of a blackish brown, the second black.
The scale, large, nearly quadrate, the supe-
rior margin straight, slightly concave.
Feet, the same as in the worker. Wings,
slightly obscure, with the nervures and the
marginal point of the superior, blackish.
Vide P\. II. fig. 8. |

M. — Black, very shining, nearly smooth. An-
tenne, commonly black, sometimes of an ob-
scure yellow, or half black and half fallow.
Scale thick, nearly quadrate, the supe-
rior margin longer, almost straight, slightly
concave. Anus and the feet a palish yellow,
haunches black. Superior wings, slightly
obscure, with the nervures deeply yel-
lowish, and the stigma blackish. Vide
PL. IL. fig. 8. ~

The male and female are figured of the size repre-
sented in the Plate, but larger than Latreille has
them. This Author speaks of a variety in which
the brown parts are much more fallow than in
the above. This he has described in his little work,
under the name of the Black Ant. (Fourmi
noire.) The Fourmi noiratre of his monograph
appears to me to be the same.

Be this as it may, these three varieties, whose
manners and habits are precisely the same, ought

. APPENDIX. 393

to be comprised under the denomination of noir-
cendrées.

They build after the same manner. They open
the cocoons of their pupe a few days after they
have spun, under the form of larvae, and are all
equally exposed to the invasions of the Amazon

Ants.
LatreiL1e, Hist. Nat. des Fourmis.

Tue Minine Ant,
(F. Cunicularia, Lat.)

W.— Head and abdomen, black. About the
mouth, upper part of the head, first joint of
the antenne, thorax, and feet, of a pale
fallow. Vide Pl. II, fig. 12.

It resembles the worker of the Fallow
Ant. The antenne have their first joint
yellow, and the second of a blackish red.
The head is black, with the parts surround-
ing the mouth ; the inferior part reddish.
The forehead bears an impressed line.
Three apparent ocelli. Thorax, of amuch
paler yellow than in the Fallow Ants, and
no black upon the back (on this account
they closely resemble the Fallow Ants, with
the red back). The scale is fallow, nearly
oval; having the middle of its superior
margin retuse, as if truncate. The ad-
domen is of a black ash-colour, pubescent.

304 APPENDIX.

The feet are fallow. Length, two lines and

a half. )
F’. — Body, elongate, about three lines and a
half, much resembling that of the Fallow
Ant. Antenne and head, same form and co-
lour as in the worker. Thoraz, fallow, with
three marks or stains upon the back. Sczitel-
lum, and the mark upon each side, under
the wings, black. Scale, fallow, cordiform,
strongly emarginate. Abdomen black.
Feet, fallow. Wings, diaphanous, with the
nervures of a yellowish brown, and the
stigma deeper in colour. Length, three to
four lines, sometimes even four and a half.
Vide Pi. I. fig. 11.

There is a variety of this hema an which
the fore-part of the abdomen is fallow ; the
back ts black, with twored rays. Length,
three lines. |
M. — About three lines in length. It has the

carriage of the male of the Fallow Ant.
The body is black, more shining, slightly
sericeous on the abdomen. The scale is
strongly emarginate. Anus, of an obscure
reddish brown. eet, blackish. Wings
slightly obscure; the nervures of the su-
perior of a yellowish brown; the stigma
black. . Vide Pl. II. fig. 13.

M. Latreille brings under the denomination of

APPENDIX. 895

mineuse, the effacée of his monograph, which is
only a variely. These ants, like the Ash-coloured
Ants, tear the cocoons spun by the larva, as soon
as the latter have undergone their transform-
ation.

Tue Rurescent ANT,

(I. Rufescens, Lat.)

Fourth family. Fourmi ambigue : thus called,
because it holds an intermediate rank between two
other families.

W.—Of a pale red. Mandibles, slender, ar-
cuate, scarcely denticulate. Ocelli, three,
small, Zhoraz, elevated posteriorly.
Length, three lines.

The body is elongate, of a pale red,
nearly smooth, having only a few hairs
upon the head, scale, and abdomen. The
antenn@ are inserted near the mouth, the
part between them is not elevated, as in
the ants of the former families (like the pre-
ceding.) The head is rather large, nearly
quadrate, rounded posteriorly. The man-
dibles are arched, slender, scarcely den-
ticulate, terminating in a point, much re-
sembling those of the Tipu1z. This cha-
racter is unique in the indigenous ants.

The middle of the forehead bears a small

396

APPENDIX:

impressed line. The eyes are small and
black. ‘The three small oceli¢ are very ap-

parent. The ¢horax is narrow, gibbous,

and rounded anteriorly, sinking in the
middle of the back, and afterwards ter-
minating in a rounded elevation. The
scale is large, very thick, rounded at the
superior margin, shaped like the segment
of a circle, whose extremify is truncated,
serving as the base. The abdomen is small,
globose, conical. The sting very evident.
The tarsi are slightly hairy.

F.. —It closely resembles the worker. The

thorax is nearly cylindric, elevated, and
rounded at its posterior extremity, which is
separated from the rest of the back, by a
transverse furrow. The scale is of the same
form as in the worker. The abdomen a

little larger.
The wings were wanting in the Ahioisbel

our author possessed. This excellent descrip-

tion agrees, in every respect, with our Le-
gionary Ants. M. Jurine describes the in-
dividuals I presented him, as follows.

W.— Reddish. Last segment of the abdomen

more pale. Eyes, black. Vide PI. Il.
fig. 2.

F', — Larger than the worker, of a deeper red.

APPENDIX. 397

Thorax extremely round posteriorly, and
projecting. Scale, large, thick, and round-
ed. Abdomen, oval, shortened. Wings,
slightly smoky. Vide fig. 1.

M. — Size of the worker; black. Abdomen
oval, elongate. Seawal parts, testaccous.
Thighs, black; whitish at their base and
extremity. Legs and /arsi, pale. Scale,
moderately thick, emarginate. Wings, ex-
tremely diaphanous. Vide fig. 3.

Apterous female. Blood-red. Anterior part
of the thorax, reddish brown. Scutellum,
projecting, rounded. Scale, thick, oval
entire, much resembling the female of the
Rufescent Ant, (J. Roussdtre) and equally
large. Vide fig. 4.

Tue Sancuine ANT,

(F. Sanguinea, Lat.)

F.— Blood-red. Eyes and abdomen, black.
Upper part of the head, slightly tinged with
black. Scale, oval, less cmarginate than in
the worker. Wings, strongly smoky to-
wards their base. Vide fig. 5,

M.— Black. Feet, reddish. Wings smoky
black towards their base. Scale, emarginate ,
Vide fig. 7.

398 APPENDIX,

W.— Like the female, but the dead of a deeper
red; and the thorax more contracted.
Vide fig. 6.

JURINE.
M. Latreille only describes the worker,
and in the following terms. Of a blood-red.
Eyes and abdomen, black; very small ocelli.
Scale oval, slightly emarginate.

FINIS.

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