HA R VESTING ANTS. 43 



unexplored part of the nest, and the ants were always 

 restless and miserable, unceasingly trying to escape, 

 and dying in large numbers. 



On February 12 I found that all these ants, though 

 abundantl}^ supplied with seeds and all other kinds 

 of food, were dead. Two other colonies of ants, 

 however, which had been taken in a torpid state in 

 the masses of earth which formed part of tlie original 

 nest, were alive and well, though still torpid. 



The second captive colony, taken on December 

 28, with the wingless queen ant and quantities of 

 larvae, formed a strong contrast with the previous 

 one. Here the ants at once set to work upon the 

 construction of galleries and safety places for the 

 larvae below the even surface of garden mould on 

 which I had placed them within the jar; for in this 

 case I did not attempt to preserve any portion of 

 their own nest. This was done at 3.80 p.m., and by 

 9 that evening I found the ants most busily at work, 

 having in less than six hours excavated eight deep 

 orifices leading to galleries below, and surrounded these 

 orifices by crater-like heaps, made of the earth pellets 

 which they had thrown out. I have observed some- 

 what similar structures raised b}^ harhara after the 

 nests have been closed on account of rain, -dMi^strucior 

 frequently raises still more elaborate and distinct 

 craters, such as those represented at Fig. B, Plate II., 

 p. 22 (reduced one-halt). 



On the following morning the openings were ten 

 in number, and tlie greatly increased heaps of ex- 

 cavated earth showed that they must probably have 

 been at work all night. The amount of work done 

 in this short time was truly surprising, for it must 



