270 



RELUCTANCE OF ANTS 



turning as in the previous experiment, ten ants, one 

 after another, continued their course, thus coming out 

 of the box at the end furthest from the nest. When 

 ten ants successively had, under these circumstances, 

 gone wrong, to make the experiment complete, I tried 

 it again, everything being the same, except that 

 there was no box. Under these circumstances five 

 ants, one -after the other, turned directly the table was 

 rotated. 



From these experiments, therefore, it seems clear 

 that in determining their course the ants are greatly 

 influenced by the direction of the light. 



March 27. — I let out two ants imprisoned on the 

 25th, and placed them on the larvae, which I put on a 

 column 7 inches high, covered with blue paper, and 

 communicating with the nest by the paper path 

 (a. Fig. 29) arranged as usual, but supported on 

 pins. At first I arranged it as shown below, placing 

 tlie larvae at M, on a table 18 inches in diameter, 

 Fit,-. 29. so that the ants, on arriving at 



the larvae, made nearly a semi- 

 circle round the edge of the 

 table. I then gradually moved 

 the larvae to m' and afterwards 

 to m". The ants, however, 

 obviously knew that they were 

 going unnecessarily round. They 

 ran along the paper bridge in a very undecided manner, 

 continually turning round and often coming down the 



