ANT COMMUNITIES 



That there is a "female temperament," sharply dis- 

 tinguished from that of the male, is obvious enough to 

 the student of emmet habits. That its dominance is 

 advantageous to these organizations the natural history 

 of the Hymenoptera attests. 



What would be the effect upon human societies should 

 similar conditions prevail among them? As a specula- 

 tive theory it is worth discussing, and one would hardly 

 err in thinking that our public and official affairs would 

 be greatly bettered could woman's temperamental view 

 of things have wider influence therein, especially in their 

 relations to the young. Our civil governments and their 

 administration, from the township to the national capital, 

 are almost wholly products of the male element of the 

 race. The predominance of the female element, which 

 one sees in ant communes, might not be desirable in our 

 present stage of civilization, although it would be an 

 interesting experiment in a county or even in a State. 

 Such illustrations as the United States presents throw 

 little light upon the problem, for the general conditions 

 of society in the States that give woman the suffrage 

 really differ little from those prevailing elsewhere. 

 They certainly fall far short of the female status in an 

 ant commune. One may safely think that a great deal 

 more of it would be to our advantage. The fact to be 

 especially noted is that among ants, as also among other 

 insects, nature has built up upon the female organiza- 

 tion, and not upon the male, the most remarkable and 

 successful examples of social life and government known 

 to natural science --the ant commune, the beehive, and 

 the hornet's nest. 



In the internal view of an ant commune's affairs the 

 most striking facts are the relations of the queen mother. 



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