IS-^iliSSlETi EXPERIMENTS WITH DROWNED ANTS. lOl 



ant passed her twelve times ; three others also went by 

 but took no notice of her ; but, on the other hand, a 

 fourth picked her up and carried her off into the nest. 



Again, I immersed an ant for an hour, and put her 

 on the strip of paper. The marked ant passed twice, 

 after which she did not return. Soon after, another ant 

 came by and, picking up the immersed one, carried 

 her off to the nest. 



I do not bring forward these cases as proof or even as 

 evidence that ants are less tender to friends in distress 

 than previous observers have stated to be the case ; but 

 they certainly show that tenderness is not invariably 

 the rule ; and, especially when taken in connexion with 

 the following cases, they are interesting illustrations 

 of the individual differences existing between ants — that 

 there are Priests and Levites, and good Samaritans 

 among them, as among men. 



As evidence both of their intelligence and of their 

 affection for their friends, it has been said by various 

 observers that when ants have been accidentally buried 

 they have been very soon dug out and rescued by their 

 companions. "Without for one moment doubting the 

 facts as stated, we must remember the habit which ants 

 have of burrowing in loose fresh soil, and especially their 

 practice of digging out fresh galleries when their nests 

 are disturbed. 



It seemed to me, however, that it would not be 

 difficult to test whether the excavations made by ants 

 under the circumstances were the result of this general 



