546 



ANTS. 



cloth. Small \v;uls of the cotton are used for separating the speci- 

 mens from different colonies in the same vial of alcohol, so that 

 there may he no po.-sihle confusion of the often very closely related 

 species and varieties. The handkerchief is spread upon the ground 

 and small nests may he dug np hastily and placed in the middle of 

 it and hroken apart. The ants can then he readily seen and cap- 

 tured he fore they can reach the periphery of the cloth and escape. 

 The ha-- are used as temporary receptacles for living colonies or 

 portions of them, to he transferred to artificial nests by a method 

 to be described below, or for transporting ants from one region and 

 dumping them near the nests of the same or other species in other 



FIG. 281. Outfit for collecting ants: including bottles, lens, tweezers and labels, and 

 showing manner of separating catches from different nests by means of cotton. 



localities. In the battles which inevitably ensue the ants display 

 many instinctive peculiarities that might otherwise be overlooked. 

 Forel has used this method with great success in his studies of the 

 Swiss ants. In order to secure material for such experiments, or for 

 artificial nests, the ants, together with their brood and portions of their 

 nest, are hastily shoveled into the bag, which is then tied with a string 

 and carried without shaking. It is well before filling the bag to put 

 in it a few twigs or leaves to prevent the pebbles and earth from 

 moving about and crushing the ants. If several days must elapse before 

 the contents of the bag can be transferred to an artificial nest, the earth 



