DIFFERENCES IN HABITS. 5 



ants belonging to the communities placed on the 

 stands just described, knew their own nests perfectly 

 well. 



These nests gave me special facilities for observing 

 the internal economy of ant life. Another main diffe- 

 rence between my observations and those of previous 

 naturalists has consisted in the careful record of the 

 actions of individual ants. The most convenient mode 

 of marking them was, I found, either with a small dab 

 of paint on the back, or, in the case of bees or wasps, by 

 snipping off a fragment at the extremity of the wing. 

 This, I need hardly say, from the structure of the 

 wing, gave the insect no pain ; in fact, as it is only 

 necessary to remove a minute portion, not sufficient to 

 make any difference in their flight, they seemed 

 scarcely to notice it. I never found any difficulty in 

 painting bees or wasps ; if they are given a little honey 

 they become so intent that they quietly allow the 

 paint to be applied. Of course too much must not be 

 put on, and care must be taken not to touch the wings 

 or cover up the spiracles. Ants require somewhat more 

 delicate treatment, but with a little practice they could 

 also be marked without any real difficulty. 



No two species of Ants are identical in habits ; and, 

 on various accounts, their mode of life is far from easy to 

 unravel. In the first place, most of their time is passed 

 underground : all the education of the young, for 

 instance, is carried on in the dark. Again, ants are 

 essentially gregarious ; it is in some cases difficult to 



