4 ELEMEXTAKY STUDIES IN INSECT LIFE 



of birth, and each takes up its work without a murmur. 

 He will find that this perfect commune has developed 

 courage, patriotism, loyalty, and never-failing industry ; 

 but he will find also that war, pillage, slavery, and an 

 utter disregard of the rights of other communities and 

 individuals, are as prevalent as they are among our 

 own nations, where selfish private ambition has held 

 sway so long.'' (COMSTOCK.) 



Similar to the economy of the beehive, the workers 

 are the most active and interesting forms within the 

 colony. Like the worker bees, the worker ants are unde- 

 veloped females, and, as their name implies, they do all 

 the work. This consists of building and defending the 

 nests, caring for the young, and collecting food. They 

 not only defend the hives, but they likewise carry on 

 wars of conquest, frequently going forth to capture 

 slaves. Some species of ants make a business of raid- 

 ing the nests of other ants and bringing away the larva? 

 and pup* to their own nests, to be reared and kept as 

 slaves. So far has this gone in the case of some species 

 that the slaveholders have been dependent, upon their 

 slaves so long that they are unable to carry on the 

 work without the aid of slaves, and become helpless 

 when the slaves are removed. It would seem, too, that 

 these slaves have been slaves so long that they have be- 

 come such by instinct. Huber placed several of the 

 slaveholders by themselves, where nearly all of them 

 helplessly starved though plenty of food w r as accessible. 

 A slave was then introduced. This slave immediately 

 set to work constructing a nest and administering nour- 

 ishment to those still alive, thus saving its stupid mas- 

 ters from death. 



