HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



247 



widened them all ; for they struggled to get their 

 prey out of sight without any regard to the width 

 of the tunnel, and, in consequence, would waste 

 much time in enlarging it to the necessary dimen- 

 sions. I once had made a large cavity in the sur- 

 face of the formicary by pressing my finger into the 

 mould, into which I dropped a fly. The ants, of 

 course, took it beneath then and there ; but, 

 thinking the opening too large, they moderated 

 its size by partly filling it in with neatly arranged 

 lumps of earth. I observed that if I had provided 

 them with some large article of food, such as a 

 sparrow, that they would so satiate and gorge 

 themselves, that afterwards, for a week or more, 

 they would leave the most tempting morsel almost 

 untouched. F. nigra was a very thirsty race, but 

 1 rarely or ever saw M. ruginodis make any attempt 

 to drink. I used to think that the ants informed 

 each other when a fresh piece of food was given to 

 them, but I now believe that it is their strong sense 

 of smell which attracts them to their prey with such 

 rapidity and in such numbers. It is also a most 

 peculiar fact that I never saw two of my ants com- 

 municate by touching antennae, as Formica nigra so 

 constantly did, and I could not detect any other 

 means of communication. 



I have noticed amongst all kinds of ants that the 

 waste of labour is great. I have seen seven or 

 eight ants tugging at a fly with might and main, all 

 in different directions, which would remain, in con- 

 sequence, almost motionless. At other times one 

 ant alone can drag a great fly with ease half across 

 the formicary. On the 1st of June I saw a won- 

 derful revolution amongst some of the colony. One 

 of the ants had fast hold of a comrade by an 

 antenna, the part they always in their battles try 

 to seize, and was struggling hard to drag it along 

 the ground. The other was strenuously resisting 

 this violent treatment, until a third ant happened to 

 come upon the scene, and apparently taking the 

 part of the hapless victim, he seized it by a leg 

 and tried vigorously to pull it away from its 

 aggressor. The latter was, for all this, gaining the 

 day, when the others chanced to come into contact 

 with a clod of earth, to which they clung with all 

 their strength. In spite of this the aggressor 

 managed to haul the other two, clod and all, to 

 some distance, until they both lost hold of the 

 clod, and the rescuer let go his grasp of the victim, 

 who now began to fare badly. This created terrible 

 excitement amongst the neighbouring ants, and 

 tbey ran round about and even over the combatants, 

 but offered no further assistance, until at length an 

 ant ran hurriedly up, stroked number one rapidly 

 with its antenna, who at once released his prisoner, 

 and they all went quietly off. I have frequently 

 noticed the instantaneous manner in which they 

 will leave off fighting, and then apparently forget 

 all their grievances. They did nothing but quarrel ; 



and, though it seems a wild theory, I often could 

 not help thinking that summary justice was in- 

 flicted upon offenders by certain ants set in 

 authority over the others. 



In August, in the very hot weather, a number of 

 wasps, which have been so plentiful this year, 

 were attracted into the room where my formicary 

 was stationed, through the open windows, to feast 

 on the lumps of sugar. It was then that the truly 

 plucky nature of M. ruginodis appeared. Their 

 indignation at the intrusion was immense, and they 

 valiantly attempted to drive off the marauders. 

 The wasps were divided betwixt greediness for the 

 sugar and fear of the ants, and sometimes, iu the 

 attempt to get rid of them, seized them in their 

 jaws, and with a jerk literally tossed them to some 

 considerable distance. Every now and then an ant 

 would get a firm hold in a place where the wasp 

 could not reach it with its jaws, upon which the 

 latter would roll over and over, buzzing and striking 

 with its feet, in vain endeavours to dislodge its 

 painful parasite ; and sometimes they would be 

 attacked in such large numbers that they would 

 have to fairly fly away for a time and settle afresh. 

 Their tossing away the ants had no effect in quelling 

 them, for the moment they regained their feet they 

 rushed forwards again to renew the attack, only to 

 be once more hurled to a distance. 



I subjected an ant to microscopic examination in 

 search of its sting, and on pressing the abdomen I 

 saw a long and formidable curved lancet protrude. 

 It much resembled that of a wasp in miniature, and 

 the tube through which the acid is conveyed 

 through the sting and into the wound was very 

 distiuct. They can only pierce an opponent when 

 they double up their abdomen under the thorax ; 

 and for this reason, that the sting has a peculiar 

 upward curve, which makes this particular move- 

 ment necessary before it can be brought into a 

 stinging position. If they are kept straight, they 

 can only nip lightly with their jaws, which gives 

 but little pain. They are, reluctant to sting unless 

 forced, and I tried a long while before I could get 

 one to attack me. At length I got one to do so, 

 who stung away lustily for a short time. The 

 place was afterwards most horribly painful, swelled 

 much, and was hard and red for several days. In 

 my last article on ants I remarked that Formica 

 rufa had a veritable and a very painful sting. In 

 this 1 was incorrect. None of the Formicidce are 

 provided with that appendage. 



Eor the first week after the establishment of the 

 formicary, the platform was literally strewn with 

 dead ants. Whether they were ants who had been 

 injured in the removal, or whether they were those 

 who had died from the change of circumstances, I 

 do not know. From that time to this I hardly 

 remember the death of a single ant, or, to say the 

 least, none were visible. They were not as careful 



