176 Sir John Luhhoch [May 9, 



The first to which I will call your attention are the common little 

 meadow ants — Lasius flams. I shall hope to show you the young or 

 larvae, and the queen ; at this time of year there are no pupae or males. 

 This queen was killed by an accident, but the ants appear to have 

 not yet realized their loss. When I prepared this nest for them, and 

 they took possession of it, it was touching to see them carry in the 

 poor dead queen. The queens and males have wings, but after one 

 flight they themselves strip them off. 



The next species is one which I shall have occasion to mention very 

 often — Formica fmca. Here also you will see that the queen has 

 stripped off her wings. 



In these species, though the workers differ more or less in size, 

 they are all alike in other respects ; but in the next, which belongs to 

 the genus Pheidole, there are, as you will see, two distinct kinds of 

 workers. These two sorts, different as they are, are of the same age 

 and sex, all being females, and moreover sisters, daughters of the same 

 mother. The large-headed individuals are generally called soldiers ; 

 but I am not myself satisfied as to their functions. This differentia- 

 tion of certain individuals is a very remarkable phenomenon. 



I now come to the slave-making ants. The mistresses in this 

 species are entirely dependent on their slaves, and have even lost the 

 instinct of feeding. If placed by themselves, they starve even in the 

 midst of plenty ; but, as I mentioned in my previous lecture, I kept a 

 couple alive and well for months by giving them a slave for an hour 

 every morning to clean and feed them. 



None of our northern ants store up grain, and hence there has been 

 much discussion as to the well-known passage of Solomon. It is, 

 however, now a well-established fact that more than one species of 

 South European ants do collect seeds of various kinds. I have kept 

 several, and have now a nest of one of these species under observation. 

 The quantity of grain thus stored up is sometimes so considerable 

 that in the Mischna rules are laid down with reference to it; and 

 various commentators, including the celebrated Maimonides, have 

 discussed at length the question whether such grain belonged to the 

 owner of the land, or might be taken by gleaners — giving the latter 

 the benefit of the doubt : they do not appear to have considered the 

 rights of the ants. 



A Texan ant, Pogonomymex harhaiiis, is also a harvesting species, 

 storing up especially the grains of Aristida oligantha, the so-called 

 " ant rice," and of a grass, BucJilce dadyloides. These ants clear disks, 

 10 or 12 feet in diameter, round the entrance to their nest, a work of 

 no small labour in the rich soil, and under the hot sun, of Texas. I 

 say " clear disks," but some, though not all, of these disks are occupied, 

 especially round the edge, by a growth of ant rice. Dr. Lincccum, 

 who first gave an account of these insects, maintained not only that 

 the ground was carefully cleared of all other species of plants, but 

 that this grass was intentionally cultivated by the ants. Mr. McCook, 

 by whom the subject has been recently studied, fully confirms Dr. 



