44 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



some of their larvae and pupae. Under these circumstances it occa- 

 sionally hajjpens that the pupae come to maturity in the nests of the 

 horse ant, and nests are sometimes, though rarely, found in which 

 with the legitimate owners there are a few F. fuscas. "With the horse 

 ant this is, however, a very rare and exceptional phenomenon ; but 

 with an allied species, F. sanguinea, a species which exists in our 

 southern counties and throughout Europe, it has become an estab- 

 lished habit. The F. sanguineas make periodical expeditions, attack 

 neighboring nests of F. fusca, and carry oiF the pupae. When the 

 latter come to maturity, they find themselves in a nest consisting 

 partly of F. sanguineas^ partly of F. fuscas the results of previous 

 expeditions. They adapt themselves to circumstances, assist in the 

 ordinary household duties, and, having no young of their own species, 

 feed and tend those of the F. sanguinea. But though the F. san- 

 guineas are thus aided by the F. fuscas, they have not themselves lost 

 the instinct of working. It seems not improbable that there is some 

 division of functions between the two species, but we have as yet 

 no distinct knowledge on this point, and at any rate the F. sangui- 

 neas can " do " for themselves, and carry on a nest, if necessary, 

 without slaves. 



In another species, however, Polyergus rvfescens, which is not 

 British, this is not the case. They present a striking lesson of the 

 degrading tendency of slavery, for they have become entirely depend- 

 ent on their slaves. Even their bodily structure has vmdergone a 

 change : their mandibles have lost their teeth, and have become mere 

 nippers deadly weapons, indeed, but useless except in war. They 

 have lost the greater part of their instincts : their art, that is, the 

 power of building ; their domestic habits, for they take no care of their 

 own young, all this being done by the slaves ; their industry they 

 take no part in providing the daily supplies ; if the colony changes 

 the situation of its nest, the masters are all carried by the slaves to 

 the new one ; nay, they have even lost the habit of feeding. Huber 

 placed thirty of them, with some larvae and pupre, and a supply of 

 honey, in a box. 



"At first," he says, " they appeared to pay some little attention to the 

 larvsB ; they carried them here and there, but presently replaced them. More 

 than one-half of the Amazons died of hunger in less than two days. They had 

 not even traced out a dwelling, and the few ants still in existence were languid 

 and without stren|plh. I commiserated their condition, and gave them one of 

 their black companions. This individual, unassisted, established order, formed a 

 chamber in the earth, gathering together the larvae, extricated several young 

 ants that were ready to quit the condition of pupas, and preserved the life of 

 the remaining Amazons." ' 



This observation has been fully confirmed by other naturalists. 

 However small the prison, liowever large the quantity of food, these 



' Huber, " Natural History of Ants." 



