ANT COMMUNITIES 



is equivalent to the destruction of the mental faculties." 

 [Ro. 1, p. 142.] 



Darwin's remark, that u the brain of the ant is one 

 of the most marvellous atoms in the world, perhaps 

 more so than the brain of a man/ must be taken 

 with a measure of qualification; at least, the word 

 " brain/' as used by him, must be understood in con- 

 nection with the antennae, the special organs of the 

 sensori - motor system of which the brain is only 

 the governing centre. 



We may remark in passing that, in considering the 

 intelligence of ants, the sensory organs afford the key 

 to the situation. They are the real test of intelligence 

 or power of discrimination. They are a specialty in 

 animal life, and, as remarked by Professor Calderwood 

 "the ant's intelligence is in keeping with the recognized 

 functions of the organs of discrimination at its com- 

 mand." [C. 1, p. 216.] 



The popular name of antenna? is " feelers," and it is a 

 quite fitting one; for when ants are awake and in 

 action these organs are kept continually revolving in 

 front of them and on either side of their path, touching 

 the various objects met, and sweeping the foreground 

 as though to feel the way. That, in fact, is their chief 

 use; they are feelers. With ants they are, perhaps, 

 even more important than the eyes for personal locomo- 

 tion and service and communal action. They determine 

 the forms of objects; they locate the individual trail 

 and the path of its fellows ; they distinguish foes from 

 friends; they test the quality of food and of all other 

 bodies, both by their odor and by their tactual reflex; 

 they give definite perceptions of space relations, and 

 thus enable insects, while moving over the ground sur- 



159 



