122 NATURAL HISTORY [CH. TH. 



" In whatever apartment," says Gould, " a queen 

 condescends to be present, she commands obedience 

 and respect ; a universal gladness spreads itself 

 throughout the whole cell, which is expressed by 

 particular acts of joy and exultation. They have a 

 peculiar way of skipping and leaping, and standing 

 upon their hind-legs, and prancing with the others. 

 These frolics they make use of, both to congratulate 

 each other when they meet, and to show their regard 

 for their queen; some of them gently walk over 

 her, others dance around her, and she is generally 

 encircled with a cluster of attendants." 



Their affection is extended, it would appear from 

 Huber, even beyond life ; for when a pregnant fe- 

 male dies, five or six labourers rest near her, and for 

 some days lick and brush her constantly, either with 

 a hope to revive that little particle of cherished dust, 

 or as a tribute of their instinctive love for the de- 

 parted. 



If we observe the ant-hill, we shall see so many 

 traits of this affection of the worker towards the 

 female, as to satisfy us that the imprisonment and 

 mutilation she had undergone at the hands of the 

 former are dictated alone by that instinct which 

 prompts the ant to continue its kind. The republic 

 of ants is not annually dissolved like that of bees 

 and wasps. 



Attachment to the female is not the only instance 

 of affection evinced by these insects; they, as well 

 bees, appear to recognise each other even after a long 

 absence. Huber, having taken an ant-hill from the 

 woods, placed it in his glass hive ; finding that he 

 had a superabundance of ants, he allowed some of 

 them to escape, and these formed a nest in his gar- 

 den. Those which were in the hive he carried into 

 his study, and observ^ed their habits for four months, 

 after which period he placed the hive in the garden 

 within fifteen paces of the natural nest. Immedi- 

 ately, the ants established in it recognised their for- 



