HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



199 



That their range of sight is extremely limited may 

 be easily seen by the fact that they failed to see an 

 object much larger than themselves, moving only a 

 few inches away : as in the case of the bhiebottle fly. 



I secured the nest of Formica ru/a which is in my 

 possession now in the early part of spring of this 

 year. I had previously visited the same nest, in its 

 native place, on the Christmas Day of 1888, and I 

 found them then in an almost dormant contlition, 

 huddled in a mass deep down in the nest material. 

 No female ants were visible, and I could find no 

 pupae. 



I paid them another visit in the latter part of April 

 1889, and I then found them stirringly busy ; and in 

 the nest were some sixty or seventy pupse, and six or 

 seven female ants : all of the females were winged. 

 I carried the nest away, and in a fortnight from that 

 time the whole of the pupae had undergone trans- 

 formation, and the empty cases were carried out of 

 the nest. From this batch of pupae there emerged 

 some twenty females, and out of this number five or 

 six were stripped of their wings by the workers. 



Another batch of pupK were produced, and the 

 process of hatching was most interesting. The 

 pupce themselves are incapable of breaking through the 

 tough encasement in which they have almost completed 

 their wonderful transformation, but the watchful 

 workers, by some species of instinct, wondrous in 

 itself, assist at the right moment in releasing the 

 baby ants, by biting through the covering. In an 

 incredibly short space of time the soft-bodied, 

 limp-looking youngster becomes hardened and per- 

 fected, and soon, should it be a worker, mingles with 

 its co-workers, and takes its place as a unit in the 

 vast community. And what a community ! a seething 

 mass of life governed by almost infallible laws of 

 instinct, which keep them moving and living with 

 clock-work regularity. 



The perfect insects themselves derive their sus- 

 tenance from the honeyed juices (the deposit of 

 numerous aphides) which they find plentifully be- 

 sprinkling the leaves and branches of various trees 

 and plants, the many insects which are captured 

 and conveyed to the nest serving as food for the 

 larvae. I have often thought that a sense of smell 

 must lead, the ants in the direction of the sweet 

 juices they consume. I have not, however, been able 

 to determine to my own satisfaction whether this 

 is so or not, 



Sir John Lubbock, however, writes definitely on 

 this question, saying, on p. 235 of his book on Ants, 

 Bees, and Wasps : ' ' There can be no doubt whatever 

 that in ants the sense of smell is highly developed." 

 This theory he substantiates by a number of inter- 

 esting experiments. 



I have noticed, certainly, that when I have placed 

 their food (honey) under the glass cover, in a short 

 time the paper was covered with ants, whilst only a 

 few were noticeable when I put it in. 



On one occasion I counted not less than two hun- 

 dred ants feeding at once. That such a large number 

 could not have arrived at the honey by mere chance 

 is certain ; but whether their sense of smell or some 

 other means of communication led them to the spot, 

 I could not in this instance determine. 



I am inclined, however, to believe that the ants 

 inside the nest were made aware of the fact that a 

 kingly feast was awaiting them, by their comrades 

 who had already participated in it. 



An instance of their mode of communication was 

 afforded me when I at first secured the nest. From 

 the box in which the nest was enclosed, I made a 

 passage communicating with the glass cover, as seen 

 in the illustration. At first the ants seemed afraid 

 to venture along the passage, and even after they had 

 done this only one of them ventured into the glass. 

 This adventurous individual moved about a little as if 

 exploring a new country, and then rushed back to its 

 friends in the passage. 



I watched it as closely as possible, and found that 

 it went from one friend to the other, stroking the 

 friend's antennae with its own, undoubtedly, as it 

 proved, informing them that they might with safety 

 venture into the glass. This advice they acted upon 

 at once, and soon quite a number of them were in 

 the glass, creeping in all directions. It is quite a 

 common occurrence to see two ants thus engaged in 

 having a friendly chat. In fact, the uses of the 

 antennae seem to be unlimited. 



Once I was cruel enough to cut off the abdomen of 

 one of my favourites, and, seeing that it was in the 

 interest of Science, I suppose I need not crave pardon. 

 By-the-way, what a selfish master Science is ! Nothing 

 can satiate its voracious appetite. Bird, beast, and 

 insect fall a prey to its rapacity. But its shadow 

 covers a multitude of sins. The operation on my ant, 

 however, caused or seemed to cause it little pain, as 

 it moved about as rapidly and as easily as ever. I 

 placed it near to a drop of honey, and it immediately 

 began to feed as though it had not, recently, been 

 cut in two. In fact, it rather seemed to enjoy 

 being rid of such an incumbrance as a bulky abdo- 

 men. Soon the honey that it was imbibing began 

 to ooze out from behind its abdomen, and it fed on 

 and on, never of course feeling satisfied. I placed it 

 again in the nest, and next day I saw it again, and 

 then I lost sight of it entirely. 



I am aware that this is only one link in the chain 

 of evidence proving that insects do not feel pain, yet 

 I hope it is worth recording. 



It is strange that in such a large community, con- 

 fined to comparatively narrow limits, there should be 

 any lack of regard for the safety of each other. Yet 

 such is undoubtedly the case. And it is here we can 

 trace such a wide difference between the human 

 reason and the instinct (we must call it thus for want 

 of a better name) of the weaker creation. 



True it is that amongst ants there is a governing 



