PERFECT SOCIETIES OF INSECTS. lOS 



of this species, where he saw many employed in various 

 ways, he noticed some reposing which appeared to be 

 asleep ^. 



But they have not only their time for repose ; they 

 also devote some to relaxation, during which they amuse 

 themselves with sports and games. " You may frequently 

 perceive one of these ants {F.7'iifa) (says our Gould) run 

 to and fro with a fellow-labourer in his forceps, of the 

 same species and colony. It appeared first in the light 

 of provisions ; but I was soon undeceived by observing, 

 that after being carried for some time, it was let go in a 

 friendly manner, and received no personal injury. This 

 amusement, or whatever title you please to give it, is 

 often repeated, particularly amongst the hill-ants, who 

 are very fond of this sportive exercise ^." A nest of ants 

 which Bonnet found in the head of a teazle, when en- 

 joying the full sun, which seems the acme of formic fe- 

 licity, amused themselves with carrying each other on 

 their backs, the rider holding with his mandibles the 

 neck of his horse, and embracing it closely with his 

 legs'^. But the most circumstantial account of their 

 sports is given by Huber. " I approached one day," 

 says he, "one of their foi'micaries (he is speaking of 

 F. rufci) exposed to the sun and sheltered from the north. 

 The ants were heaped together in great numbers, and 

 seemed to enjoy the temperature which they experienced 

 at the surface of the nest None of them M'ere working: 

 this multitude of accumulated insects exhibited the ap- 

 pearance of a boiling fluid, upon which at first the eye 

 could scarce fix itself without difficulty. But when I 

 set myself to follow each ant separately, I saw them ap- 

 ' Huber, 73. '' Gould, 103— ■ Bonnet, ii. 407. 



