THE SOCIAL INSECTS 



become extinct is the colony rather than the individual. An 

 individual which is useful to the colony may survive though 

 it would be quickly eliminated in a solitary species. This 

 happens to a considerable extent in man. In civilised societies, 

 many members are supported who contribute only very 

 indirectly to the provision of the food and shelter necessary 

 for life. Others who contribute nothing are enabled to 

 survive because our social behaviour benefits the whole 

 species and not merely the bread-winners. In an ant-colony 

 there is an analogous situation: the worker which is sterile, 

 or capable only of producing male offspring, is a good 

 example of a type which could not survive apart from the 

 colony. Some of the more fantastic types of soldier ants 

 seem to be an even more extreme example of the same thing. 

 They might be described as freaks for whom, during the 

 evolutionary process, a use has been found, just as the circus 

 has found a use for dwarfs. 



COMMUNICATION 



The social life of ants involves extensive co-operation 

 between individuals for the good of the whole colony. The 

 spinning together of leaves by Oecophylla is a striking 

 example, but a great deal of ant behaviour is of the same 

 type. To say that each individual is reacting instinctively 

 to the needs of the colony is a description rather than an 

 explanation of what is observed. Some ant behaviour might 

 be better understood if ants were known to have means of 

 communication of the type described in the honey bee. 

 Although, so far, nothing of this sort has been discovered, 

 this does not prove very much. Facts as strange as those 

 revealed by von Frisch for bees may yet come to light. 

 Meanwhile, the little that is known about communication and 

 the related topic of path finding may be briefly summarised. 



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